A barrier against what?
July 27, 2012 12:41 PM   Subscribe

Why this?

Here's a fence that runs along a bridge, seen from the roadway below. At each end, and in the middle, are 3 vertical barriers that prevent people from climbing along the outside of the fence. You'll see these on many highway overpasses.

In this picture we're looking only at the middle barrier. But why is this middle barrier needed? The pair at the ends would seem to accomplish the purpose.
posted by LonnieK to Travel & Transportation (4 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
According to the commentary under this photo, it's an extra barrier towards the ends of the bridge designed to reduce access to the outside of the fence. There are four, one in each corner on each side. More about the same bridge here.
posted by iconomy at 1:02 PM on July 27, 2012


Response by poster: Thx iconomy!

But as you note, the caption says there are 4 such barriers -- i.e., two for each fence -- and they are located at the ends of the bridge.

My question is about bridges that have 3 such barriers on each side, not 2. (6 total, not 4). I understand what the barriers at the ends do. But how do the middle ones help?
posted by LonnieK at 2:05 PM on July 27, 2012


Maybe they order sections of fence that have the thing on each end, so if they need four sections total they end up with a barrier sandwich at the middle joint.
posted by cmoj at 2:10 PM on July 27, 2012


Because it's scarier to try to go hand-over-hand around that fence over 8 lanes of traffic than it is over the side of the highway, and so it might deter people who get past the first set of barriers?
posted by mudpuppie at 3:08 PM on July 27, 2012 [1 favorite]


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