Cable barriers credited with saving lives in crash
By Nick Bohr
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PEWAUKEE, Wisconsin (WISN) — Cable barriers on Highway 16 near the Capitol Drive interchange in Pewaukee are being credited with saving lives during a crash involving an oil tanker and several cars on Friday by preventing the vehicles from crossing into oncoming traffic.
Dan Moudry, the Waukesha County Highway Department’s patrol superintendent, was at the scene of the crash and emphasized the lifesaving capabilities of the barriers.
“It’s proven. It saves people’s lives,” Moudry said.
He has witnessed their effectiveness firsthand, stating, “I’ve never seen a vehicle go through the cable yet. That’s not to say it can’t happen, I’ve just never seen one, and I’ve been on over 300 accidents.”
The barriers are designed to absorb the force of a crash, spreading it across sometimes a mile’s length of cable, lessening the impact to the passengers as well as avoiding head-on collisions.
Moudry supervised the repairs to the barriers following the crash and noted the potential for more injuries if the barriers hadn’t been in place.
“If the cable hadn’t been there to arrest and stop that semi, there would’ve been numerous other injuries,” he said.
He also mentioned plans to extend the cable barriers on I-94 all the way to the county line, expressing urgency for the expansion.
“You could’ve had anywhere from three to five different vehicles that could’ve crossed over head-on into traffic, and at 8:30 in the morning on a Friday, it was a little busy,” Moudry said.
He said, flatly, that without the barriers, “People would have died.”
One person remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries from the crash, and the Wisconsin State Patrol continues to investigate the crash.
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