Roadside Barriers for Construction: 5 Things You NEED To Consider

When starting a roadside construction project, one of the things you need to do is find a way to separate your site from the public, ensuring safety for drivers, pedestrians, and site employees. Traditional systems, such as basic temporary construction fencing or plywood hoarding, don’t always meet all requirements. The roadside barrier you choose may end up being the only thing protecting members of the public from a potentially dangerous work site, so you must choose wisely.

Here are 5 things to consider when selecting your roadside barrier solution:

Pedestrian safety

A primary function of roadside barricades is to protect public safety during construction. An engineered, specialized system will provide peace of mind that your barriers are going to keep your employees and the public safe. At a minimum, the barrier should be stable, secure, and difficult to breach. In addition to keeping pedestrians away from potential hazards within the site, the barricade itself should not pose a risk to passersby. Ensure your barrier isn’t in danger of tipping over, and address any possible trip hazards.

High-visibility

Roadside barriers need to be highly visible to ensure the safety of nearby drivers. Using a bright colour such as orange or yellow will help with daytime visibility. As for nighttime safety, having reflective components will signal to vehicles that they are approaching a barrier, preventing potential collisions. If the barrier itself is not high-visibility, accessories such as traffic cones and delineators are an inexpensive way to easily add visibility for both daytime and nighttime.

Keep in mind that your barrier should not unreasonably block sightlines for drivers. Anyone operating a vehicle should be able to properly see their surroundings while driving around or near your work site. To preserve sightlines, avoid hoarding or privacy screen on corners or along driveways.

Breach prevention

Having a breach-deterrent safety fence will not only keep your site secure, it will keep the public safe. Systems that a pedestrian can easily climb are a safety hazard for more than one reason. Those climbing can fall into the site or into live traffic. If they manage to scale the barrier and gain access to your site, they’ll be exposed to all of the dangers of an active construction zone. Especially worrying is this recent trend of people scaling construction cranes. Do your due diligence and install a containment system that is breach-deterrent to prevent unauthorized access to your site.

Wind resistance

The stability of your roadside barrier is key to protecting public safety. Employ a system that can be reinforced for additional stability if required. Ideally, look for an engineered system that has been tested and proved to resist wind loads. Especially if this is a long-term project spanning multiple seasons, make sure the barriers you have can withstand weather conditions.

Simple assembly and flexibility

Your system should be easy to set up and take down as needed. If you are working on a large-scale project, it may be necessary to move the barriers from time to time as your requirements change. Installing a barrier system that is easy to move or adjust as needed will save you time and money.

For traffic mitigation and safety during roadside construction, look for a comprehensive system that takes all of the above into consideration. Taking the time to account for the safety, visibility, stability and flexibility of the barrier will ensure you pick the best solution for your site.

Still not sure where to start? Modu-Loc’s award-winning fence on jersey barrier system may be the solution you need. Contact us today for more information.