David MacAnally/Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - Cable barriers are popping up on Indiana highways in an effort to save lives.
On Interstate 69 Thursday, a northbound pick-up truck hit a slick spot in the roadway and went through the median. Nothing was in place that could stop the truck from landing in front of a semi. The driver of the pick-up was ejected and killed.
But one of the steel cable barriers the state has installed on interstates the last five years may have prevented that from happening. On Christmas Eve, the cables may have saved a mother and son from a head-on collision.
Grant County's highways, the scene of Thursday's fatal accident, does not have cable barriers, but some police there wish it did.
"As new funding comes in here, we are able to essentially take our priority list of those areas of greatest need and build more and more cable barriers," said INDOT Spokesman Will Wingfield.
Boone County got some of the state's first cable barriers because of a rash of crossover accidents.
"[INDOT] put the cable barrier in and our traffic fatalities on I-65 have drastically reduced," said Boone County Sheriff Ken Campbell.
The devices are designed to catch the vehicles, not just toss it back into traffic. But it also takes engineering. A car can get under a cable, like one did in Lebanon, and in a video test. But in INDOT tests, when cars hit cables 69 times, none got through.
Cable posts were down along I-69 Friday from slideoffs the day before. But the cables stayed in place doing their job.
INDOT has put barriers on 180 miles of interstate with more coming in 2011.
"Enough to double what's already installed out on the road. More than enough," Wingfield said.
This year, the state wants to lay another 180 miles of cable barriers in those priority areas. The project is projected to cost around $17 million in federal safety dollars. Last year's work was paid for by the stimulus bill.
It is unclear if Grant County is in line for any of the new cable barriers.
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