Wastefully Fixing Traffic Barriers

Aaron Fisher | June 29, 2026

Ineffectual steel stapled to a crumbling concrete traffic barrier

On I-495 and I-270, MDOT has been stapling Steel W-Beam Barriers to crumbling concrete barriers. What happened to these barriers? And why did someone staple flimsy steel to the outside?

Crumbling Concrete

On high volume roadways DOTs use concrete median barriers because they are the most effective collision barriers and have the lowest life cycle costs.

Unfortunately most modern concrete is limited by the corrosion of reinforcing steel. Once steel starts to corrode it expands 4x-7x. This expansion literally explodes concrete from the inside. And once it starts it’s difficult to stop.

The Problem

This is a band aid on a bullet hole—a solution this isn’t addressing the root cause.

These steel band-aids are not as strong as the concrete barriers that used to be there
The concrete structure to which they are affixed is literally crumbling

Fix It Right

The correct fix requires starting over on these concrete barriers. Remove the cancer and start over.

Ideally the permanent fix would be look at ways to address corrosion (fiberglass rebar [GFRP], corrosion inhibitors, sealed concrete, etc.) Making the barriers last is important.

If a temporary fix is needed it needs to slow down or arrest the corrosion.

What we are seeing hasn’t really fixed anything, it just acknowledges that there is a problem

If someone knows who is doing this, please send them this. Would rather not see these barriers deteriorate further or worse not prevent an accident.