It didn't take long for newly installed high tension cable barriers along Highway 401 in Chatham Kent to be put to the test.
Chatham-Kent OPP say the new median barrier prevented a cross-over collision around 12:30 a.m. Saturday near Kenesserie Road.
Police say an eastbound pickup truck, carrying an engine, lost control during a heavy downpour and struck the centre median cable barrier and rolled over.
This caused the engine to dislodge and land in the westbound lanes.
A westbound tractor trailer collided with the engine, lost control and struck the centre median barrier.
“At no time did the transport truck cross through over the centre median and the cable barriers actually did what they were designed to do,” says OPP Constable Jay Denorer. “Potentially we could have lost a life or two.”
But no one was hurt during the crash.
Alysson Storey, who founded the Build the Barrier, group tells CTV News they still want concrete barriers installed along the section of 401 which is also known as “Carnage Alley.”
“We're happy that the cable barrier did what it was supposed to do but we're concerned that it might be an isolated incident,” says Storey. “There's no fool proof 100 per cent solution, but the concrete barrier is as close as it gets."
The provincial government has started an environmental assessment for concrete barriers, which is estimated to cost several million dollars per kilometre.
According to the Ministry of Transportation, cable barrier installation on Highway 401 will last until 2021. Officials also suggest a lot more work needs to occur before concrete barriers are installed.
