Concrete barriers to protect construction workers, treacherous for drivers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Concrete barriers on Charlotte interstates save lives by protecting workers in construction zones, but they are so close to the travel lanes they leave drivers no room for error.

"You have to be more than cautious," motorist Bilal Muhammad said.

Drivers are funneled through roadwork by concrete barriers, also known as Jersey barriers, that weigh 4,000 pounds a section.

"You have zero tolerance for mistakes, so you see a lot of people aggressively driving and it's risky," Muhammad said.

There is about 2-3 feet of space between the car and the barrier along a portion of Interstate 77.

"Should a collision occur or a malfunction with someone's vehicle, obviously it leaves nowhere for that vehicle to go," Trooper Ray Piercing said.

Troopers said they've seen an increase in crashes where the barriers are deployed.

In 2016, barriers were in place on Interstate 85 as workers built a new weigh station near Crowders Mountain.

There were 83 crashes between February and November that year, according to North Carolina Department of Transportation records.

During the same time period this year, after the work was completed and the barriers were removed, there were 63 crashes, which is a 24 percent drop.

There were 42 crashes in a 1-mile stretch of the northbound lanes of I-77 between Interstate 277 and Lasalle Street-Atando Drive exit from September 2016 to January 2017, which is five months before barriers went up.

Once those barriers were put in place there were 72 crashes, which is a 70 percent increase.

A spokeswoman said they are monitoring that section of I-77 north of I-277.

Channel 9 is waiting for a response on whether the state will add emergency shoulders along construction zones.

Cox Media Group