New Jersey has been installing cable barriers on freeway medians of>late, and I have some questions regarding the design of such>installations.­..>

It appears that, in segments with horizontal curvature, the barrier is>being placed closer to the roadway on the *outside* of the curve. I>would think it should be placed closer to the roadway on the *inside*>of the curve (e.g., if the roadway I am traveling on curves to the>right, the barrier would be near the left shoulder), in order to>stop/redirect errant vehicles immediately.

Also, where the median is depressed, the cable barrier is often in the>middle, which is also the lowest point, making it look like it could be>easily overun. This includes places where curvature and superelevation>of the roadways appear to have the cables **at or below the left edge>of pavement** of the roadway on the inside of the curve. In the cases>to which I am referring, the median (including inside shoulders) is 50>feet wide or less.

Since my design experience has been purely conceptual, I do not know if>this type of installation, while appearing to render the barriers less>effective, might actually be justified for non-obvious reasons. Could>any of you "hard" design engineers please comment?>