Freeway median widths, as a general rule...

[US 89]

Oklahoma uses cable barrier at 80 ft.

And Oklahoma also uses cable barriers with basically no median at all.  On an Interstate.

Since when does Oklahoma care about median safety? They have 75 mph turnpikes with a 15-foot grass median and no barriers. Or a left shoulder, for that matter.

[hotdogPi]

Oklahoma uses cable barrier at 80 ft.

And Oklahoma also uses cable barriers with basically no median at all.  On an Interstate.

Since when does Oklahoma care about median safety? They have 75 mph turnpikes with a 15-foot grass median and no barriers. Or a left shoulder, for that matter.

Maybe it was done this way so that if one side is completely closed for construction, the road can remain open on both sides by having people drive on the wrong side of the road. It doesn't seem like the type of road where someone would accidentally cross the median.

[Beltway]

Oklahoma uses cable barrier at 80 ft.

And Oklahoma also uses cable barriers with basically no median at all.  On an Interstate.

Estimate a 14-foot median, the normal minimum standard for a 4-lane Interstate highway.  High-tension cable guardrail which is strong enough to turn a truck back into its roadway at 60 mph.

[Road Hog]

New-construction freeway in Texas is virtually median-free. Just space for an inside shoulder and a permanent Jersey wall. Probably 22 feet max. Cuts down on ROW expenses to be sure.

[SSR_317]

New-construction freeway in Texas is virtually median-free. Just space for an inside shoulder and a permanent Jersey wall. Probably 22 feet max. Cuts down on ROW expenses to be sure.

Until the freeway needs widening, of course. Just kicking the can down the road and letting subsequent generations pay for it.

[jeffandnicole]

Oklahoma uses cable barrier at 80 ft.

And Oklahoma also uses cable barriers with basically no median at all.  On an Interstate.

Since when does Oklahoma care about median safety? They have 75 mph turnpikes with a 15-foot grass median and no barriers. Or a left shoulder, for that matter.

Maybe it was done this way so that if one side is completely closed for construction, the road can remain open on both sides by having people drive on the wrong side of the road. It doesn't seem like the type of road where someone would accidentally cross the median.

All it takes is one slip on a wet roadway, or someone in the right lane accidently merging into someone in the left lane sending them out of control, to cross the median.

If this hasn't happened yet, no doubt when it does people will be wondering why barriers were never installed.

As for construction, the likelihood construction would close one side of the roadway is nearly 0.  And when it does, a proper crossover would need to be paved.

[J N Winkler]

OTA is still in the process of paving over the grass medians and installing cable barriers on its older turnpikes.  Last year I was on the Cimarron Turnpike approaching the US 177 toll booth when a pickup driver in the other direction had some kind of medical emergency and went into the median.  Fortunately this was on an upgraded segment.  He knocked a sign and lots of the barrier hardware (post caps etc.) into my lane, but my car was able to roll over them without damage.  (I pulled over so I could drag the sign and its posts to the verge.)  I hate to think of what might have happened if he had made it all the way across the median.



ODOT is actually the Oklahoma agency that is using cable median barrier at widths of up to 80 ft.  I found a mention of this in a survey of agency practice the last time I Googled for research reports on cable median barrier provision.  The authors were sufficiently opaque about ODOT's reasons that I suspect their ODOT source asked them to maintain confidentiality, but I gather it is due to a situation that is more or less unique to Oklahoma.

[Flint1979]

For State highways M-60 has a pretty wide median where M-99 crosses it and even has businesses in the median but goes back to a two lane highway on both sides of M-99.

[kphoger]

High-tension cable guardrail which is strong enough to turn a truck back into its roadway at 60 mph.

Except that......

He knocked a sign and lots of the barrier hardware (post caps etc.) into my lane, but my car was able to roll over them without damage.

[DJStephens]

OTA is still in the process of paving over the grass medians and installing cable barriers on its older turnpikes.  Last year I was on the Cimarron Turnpike approaching the US 177 toll booth when a pickup driver in the other direction had some kind of medical emergency and went into the median.  Fortunately this was on an upgraded segment.  He knocked a sign and lots of the barrier hardware (post caps etc.) into my lane, but my car was able to roll over them without damage.  (I pulled over so I could drag the sign and its posts to the verge.)  I hate to think of what might have happened if he had made it all the way across the median.



ODOT is actually the Oklahoma agency that is using cable median barrier at widths of up to 80 ft.  I found a mention of this in a survey of agency practice the last time I Googled for research reports on cable median barrier provision.  The authors were sufficiently opaque about ODOT's reasons that I suspect their ODOT source asked them to maintain confidentiality, but I gather it is due to a situation that is more or less unique to Oklahoma.

Crazy,  Reminds me of the cheap NM four lane jobs - NM 44/US 550 and US 70 Hondo Valley.   Concrete pavement appears fairly new, as if it was rebuilt in it's substandard state.  Plenty of ROW in the picture, also - to reconstruct to the outside. 

[sparker]

The median for much of CA 99 in the southern San Joaquin Valley is between 20 and 26 feet wide; this is the locale of much of the classic California oleander bushes, which for many years served as the sole barrier between the carriageways.  Starting in the '80's, cable barriers were added to the mix, generally stringing one cable down a single side of the plant trunks and alternating sides occasionally.  About 20 years ago these were mostly replaced by thrie-beams down each side of the bushes; they had to cut away many of the lower branches of the oleanders to tuck the beams under the bushes themselves.  This was done to (1) retain the historical aspect of the oleanders, part of what lore surrounds the 99 corridor, and (2) continue the property of oleanders as a very effective headlight blocker (part of the reason they were planted in the median in the first place!).

[NoGoodNamesAvailable]

The median for much of CA 99 in the southern San Joaquin Valley is between 20 and 26 feet wide; this is the locale of much of the classic California oleander bushes, which for many years served as the sole barrier between the carriageways.  Starting in the '80's, cable barriers were added to the mix, generally stringing one cable down a single side of the plant trunks and alternating sides occasionally.  About 20 years ago these were mostly replaced by thrie-beams down each side of the bushes; they had to cut away many of the lower branches of the oleanders to tuck the beams under the bushes themselves.  This was done to (1) retain the historical aspect of the oleanders, part of what lore surrounds the 99 corridor, and (2) continue the property of oleanders as a very effective headlight blocker (part of the reason they were planted in the median in the first place!).

I think bushes look great for narrower freeway medians. The only one I can think of in the US is the LIE/495, but they're much more common in Europe.

[sparker]

The median for much of CA 99 in the southern San Joaquin Valley is between 20 and 26 feet wide; this is the locale of much of the classic California oleander bushes, which for many years served as the sole barrier between the carriageways.  Starting in the '80's, cable barriers were added to the mix, generally stringing one cable down a single side of the plant trunks and alternating sides occasionally.  About 20 years ago these were mostly replaced by thrie-beams down each side of the bushes; they had to cut away many of the lower branches of the oleanders to tuck the beams under the bushes themselves.  This was done to (1) retain the historical aspect of the oleanders, part of what lore surrounds the 99 corridor, and (2) continue the property of oleanders as a very effective headlight blocker (part of the reason they were planted in the median in the first place!).

I think bushes look great for narrower freeway medians. The only one I can think of in the US is the LIE/495, but they're much more common in Europe.

Actually, oleanders are one of the lower-maintenance plants around, needing little water to thrive -- another reason the old CA Division of Highways selected them for freeway medians.  The yellow-orange spring floral display doesn't hurt as well!

[Tom958]

It's come to my attention that Interstate medians in Wyoming are mostly either 40-44 feet or 124-126 feet. I don't know of any other state with a policy that's so consistent or so extreme.

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=26007.msg2554063#msg2554063

[MCRoads]

High-tension cable guardrail which is strong enough to turn a truck back into its roadway at 60 mph.

Except that......

He knocked a sign and lots of the barrier hardware (post caps etc.) into my lane, but my car was able to roll over them without damage.

I think that running over a few bits of debris is a lot safer than a head on collision. At worst, you might cut a tire, but most people can handle that. Compare that to a head on collision.

[kphoger]

No, there are worse things that can happen.  Imagine a metal post going through your oil pan, for example.

[ari-s-drives]

Some info for California medians:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/21/remembering-those-killed-before-median-barrier-installed-on-highway-85-roadshow/

Before the late '90s, CA would install median barriers on freeways with high crossover rates or medians narrower than 45ft before a string of crossover accidents on SR85 in the San José area. Now the minimum barrier-free median width is 75ft (mostly on rural freeways like I-5 through some parts of the Central Valley).

[MCRoads]

No, there are worse things that can happen.  Imagine a metal post going through your oil pan, for example.

Ah. But still, you can replace your car, and clean up the slick. The point is, unless something goes spectacularly wrong, there are no fatalities, and only non life threatening injuries.

I'm not saying the design is ideal, but it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative.

As a side note, evidently to deter drivers from using bus lanes, some places use "sump busters"  to rip your oil pan, making the car inoperable... it doesn't make sense until you realize that some bus lanes are narrow or underground guideways, where a car can get stuck and unable to be retrieved.