DOTD announces project to install cable barriers on I-49 north in Caddo Parish
Tuesday, September 03, 2019 at 9:04:17 AM
DOTD announces project to install cable barriers on I-49 north in Caddo Parish
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development announces a project that will install median cable barriers along I-49 north of Shreveport in Caddo Parish.
The contract was awarded in June 2019 to Simmons Erosion Control, Inc. at a cost of $7 million.
The project to install the life-saving barriers stretches from Dr. Martin Luther King Drive (LA 3194) in Shreveport to the Arkansas state line, a 35 mile stretch of interstate.
Cable barriers are made of three or four high tension steel cables strung on posts. The barriers are designed to absorb the impact of an automobile, redirecting the vehicle along the median and helping to prevent a potentially fatal cross over crash.
This type of median cable barrier is much less expensive than permanent concrete barriers, and can typically be repaired quickly by DOTD maintenance crews after damage from a crash.
DOTD has invested over $50 million since 2008 in roadway safety improvements through projects to install these cable barriers across the state. The Department’s goal is to complete the installation of median cable barriers on all interstates in Louisiana by 2022, having already completed 355 miles of installation.
This latest project on I-49 north in Caddo Parish is expected to begin in mid-September 2019. Work will wrap up in Spring 2020, with progress always dependent on weather conditions.
(Example of installed and completed median cable barriers)