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SandBoxJohn t1_j27f09h wrote

Those precast concrete jersey barriers and orange plastic barriers are not cheap. The concrete is around $50.00 a linear foot, the plastic barriers are around $120.00 a linear foot.

They are there to protect the construction area from traffic. The orange plastic barriers are there to separate the walkway/bike path from the construction area.

The primary difference between the concrete and plastic, is the plastic functions as an attenuation barrier based on how much fluid or sand is put in it.

This is basically the same way the contractors separated pedestrians and traffic from each other during construction of Metrorail along the streets in DC back in the 1970s and 80s. The only difference being the concrete jersey barriers are used in place of heavy wood barricades and the orange plastic barriers are used in place of plywood fences.

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Profession-Life OP t1_j28x9y5 wrote

Thanks for the additional info. Yes, I see now that they aren't simply as cheap as raw concrete. I was probably conflating "quick and relatively simple to install" with "inexpensive".

I think my main point here is that this temporary solution is better for bicyclists and pedestrians than most permanent infrastructure, which I think is unfortunate.

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