Buying guide
Water-filled vs concrete jersey barriers
Both make a wall, but they do different jobs. Concrete stops vehicles. Plastic guides them, and it moves without a crane.
| Water-filled plastic | Concrete jersey | |
|---|---|---|
| Empty weight (6 ft unit) | about 100 to 150 lb | n/a, about 4,000 lb per 10 ft |
| Set with | Two people and a hose | Crane or loader |
| Crash rating | Usually none (channelizing only) | Rated systems available |
| Cost to place | Low: no equipment needed | Higher: crane, truck and crew |
| Move it later | Drain, lift, re-fill | Needs equipment again |
| Looks | Orange or white, can take a fence topper | Gray concrete |
Choose water-filled when
You are separating people from work, building a sidewalk closure, shaping event traffic, or the layout changes often. It is also the only option where a truck crane cannot reach.
Choose concrete when
Your traffic control plan calls for positive protection, which means a crash-tested barrier between live highway traffic and workers. Plastic channelizing barriers do not meet that requirement.
Bottom line
For most city, event and private-site work, water-filled barriers are cheaper to place and move. For highway work-zone protection, follow the plan, which usually means concrete or a rated steel system.
Questions
Can a water-filled barrier stop a car?
Most cannot. They slow and redirect at low speed but are not crash barriers unless the specific system carries a MASH or NCHRP-350 rating and is installed as tested.
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