Highway Guard Cables Help Prevent Crashes in Iowa

Authorities say cable barriers on stretches of the interstates in Iowa are helping with highway safety.

The barriers began going up about two years ago to stop vehicles from crossing the median into oncoming traffic. The Gazette in Cedar Rapids reports police and highway officials believe the cables are paying off.

Cathy Culter, of the Iowa Department of Transportation, says the cables are designed to bring vehicles to a halt in the median. She says cable-barrier collisions tend to be less violent than those involving conventional solid-steel guard rails, with fewer injuries.

The department’s five-year plan calls for cables along 210 miles of interstates 80 and 380 by 2015. The project will cost nearly $14 million, or $66,000 a mile.