The role of Concrete barriers in sustainable development

Concrete barriers were developed and tested to reduce the Crossover, the most hazardous of motor accidents. According to the World Commission on Environment and Development. A sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Concrete is one of the most sustainable construction materials and has reduced impact on the environment. When the construction costs of different safety barrier system is compared, concrete barriers are exceptionally cost-effective. Also, it provides functional life of at least 50 years, whereas steel works well for just 20 years. Here are some environmental and social benefits of using Highway concrete barriers,

• It pollutes less with reduced emission of green house gases during its production. It does not rely much on quarried materials. Concrete barriers make use of recycled concrete aggregate and by products of other industries like water, fly ash, fuel or other cementitious materials etc. Though steel barriers are also recyclable, they need to be hot tip galvanized to increase their lifetime which introduces environmental and economic issues.
• Based on the industry-agreed values for construction materials, the average embodied quantity of co2 in concrete is significantly lower than the steel. Moreover the whole-life environment impact of concrete barriers is positive. With a service life of 50 years, it does not require much maintenance. Hence, there is less disruption of ongoing vehicles, traffic management and lane closures.

Highway concrete barriers have the ability to withstand and remain usable even after severe collisions and don’t need to be replaced often due to damage.

• Steel barriers could also pollute the roads especially during winter. On the other hand, Concrete barriers do not contribute to any type of pollution in its highway application. Waste crushed bits of concrete have numerous secondary applications too.
• Most people know that concrete barrier requires steel for effective construction. But the steel used for this purpose is a 100% recycled scrap which consumes half the energy required to make the same amount of structural-grade steel.
• As Concrete barriers have high containment level, it can provide required safety with less working widths.
• Concrete barriers offers low level screen and reduce glare at night from the visual perspective of the motorist. Thus it provides a healthy environment for driving during late hours.

Thus, Concrete barriers follow the three ideals of sustainable development such as environment, social and economic factors.

The author has been in the construction industry for over 15 years. He writes blogs and articles about safety barriers in his leisure time. He recommends 48 barriers for purchasing Concrete barriers. To know more, visit 48barriers.com

The Author has been working in an event organizing company for many years. She has a wide knowledge of barriers.