Quebec Highway 389 - Guard Rails 2

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There are more guard rails on the paved sections of Highway 389 then on the gravel sections. You can tell the recently added rails because the metal is shiny and the wood hasn't rotted. Older guard rails have lost their shine and usually have new sections where vehicles have destroyed them. We use to laugh that guard rails were normally placed above large culverts; we wondered if they were placed there to protect the culverts?

In 2005, guard rails were being added to the gravel portion of Highway 389. Guard rails need to be rugged to withstand the snow removal equipment and the wild (but sparse) traffic. The guard rails on this single-lane bridge show the short life expectancy of this type of safety feature.