Stack interchanges and water barrels

Topic: Stack interchanges and water barrels (Read 3664 times) previous topic - next topic

Stack interchanges and water barrels

September 21, 2008, 08:29:16 pm

Greetings,
can anyone tell the meaning of those huge water barrels that you can see in some North American movies. They can be seen near stack interchanges, where vehicles are given opportunity to leave the freeways. Are they just shock absorbers protecting those expensive bridge structures by reducing collision speeds?
Djes

Re: Stack interchanges and water barrels

Reply #1 – September 21, 2008, 09:47:06 pm

They are used like cones. They have a little bit of water in them so they don't blow away in the wind. Their large size makes them more visible than regular cones and they are normally used around road construction. I've never seen them left in place for very long after the construction is done, and when the work is only taking a day or two, they usually use regular cones.

Re: Stack interchanges and water barrels

Reply #2 – September 21, 2008, 11:25:06 pm

I always ****umed they were used as shock absorbers, to prevent a vehicle from having a head-on collision with a sharp concrete wall, certainly I remember seeing them used as such in a couple of movies...

Re: Stack interchanges and water barrels

Reply #3 – September 21, 2008, 11:41:27 pm

Yeah, that's what I thought, too...

Re: Stack interchanges and water barrels

Reply #4 – September 22, 2008, 01:28:53 am

I've never seen them used that way, but I've never been to California. I always ****umed they are a Hollywood myth, like pulling the hammer back on a 1911 pistol is the same as pulling a hammer back on a single action revolver, or that Will Smith is good in movies that aren't comedies.

I will try to pay attention as I run my 200 mile circuit tomorrow and see if I see any traffic drums placed like they are on the movies.

Re: Stack interchanges and water barrels

Reply #5 – October 04, 2008, 01:56:06 am

They are meant to absorb energy from collisions, making decelerations more gradual. Generally, avoiding making road butter of car p****engers in crashes.