# What are these barriers for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 13, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041 "2018-06-13T18:09:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041/1 "2018-06-13T18:09:06Z")
While driving to Williamsburg I noticed a lot of the exits had these barriers mounted on them. I would call them turnpikes. They look like the types of barriers that you would see at railroad crossings and security gates. Basically long wooden poles with yellow and black stripes mounted on a mechanism that allows them to move up and down. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041/2 "2018-06-13T18:14:00Z")
They lower them if they want to keep people from entering a limited access highway when there is a large accident or weather causing a severe backup. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041/3 "2018-06-13T18:19:42Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > They lower them if they want to keep people from entering a limited access highway when there is a large accident or weather causing a severe backup. This. Interstate highways are sometimes closed when the weather or other events make them impassable. I’ve seen this happen in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota when blizzards pass through. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041/4 "2018-06-13T18:25:58Z")
Rereading the OP, I see that it was specified exits, and I’m more used to seeing these in place on entrance ramps. I’m not sure why they would need to keep people from taking certain exits? Maybe some sort of traffic control during mass evacuation or something? Here is an example of a barrier on an exit. There is a second one at the top of the exit ramp, too. https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211szchgBjpih9ALFwqvxfvG9A%212m2%211d37.3544553%212d-76.7340399%213f176.24%214f9.293%215f0.75 ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041/5 "2018-06-13T20:00:02Z")
They are for the reversal of the lanes for hurricane evacuation, more at this blog [https://williamsburgsrealestate.com/2009/10/13/what-are-those-gates-on-i64/](https://williamsburgsrealestate.com/2009/10/13/what-are-those-gates-on-i64/) ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041/6 "2018-06-13T20:03:27Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > While driving to Williamsburg I noticed a lot of the exits had these barriers mounted on them. I would call them turnpikes. Did you mistype a word, or did you really mean “turnpikes”? In my experience, that word means “toll road.” Not sure why you’d mount a toll road on a highway exit. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041/7 "2018-06-13T20:22:06Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > Did you mistype a word, or did you really mean “turnpikes”? In my experience, that word means “toll road.” Not sure why you’d mount a toll road on a highway exit. It’s archaic, but the word “turnpike” used for toll roads, was originally the word “turnpike”, used for the barrier across said toll road that prevented entry until the toll was paid. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041/8 "2018-06-13T20:26:26Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > Did you mistype a word, or did you really mean “turnpikes”? In my experience, that word means “toll road.” Not sure why you’d mount a toll road on a highway exit. It’s also used to describe a gate like you would see on old turnpike roads. The road name comes _from_ the [gate name](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/turnpike?s=t). ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041/9 "2018-06-13T20:31:04Z")
From [Etymology Online](https://www.etymonline.com/word/turnpike): > [@](#): > > early 15c., “spiked road barrier used for defense,” from turn + pike (n.2) “shaft.” Sense transferred to “horizontal cross of timber, turning on a vertical pin” (1540s), which were used to bar horses from foot roads. This led to the sense of “barrier to stop passage until a toll is paid” (1670s). Meaning “road with a toll gate” is from 1748, shortening of turnpike road (1745). ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041/10 "2018-06-13T20:38:07Z")
> [@howye](#): > > They are for the reversal of the lanes for hurricane evacuation, more at this blog [https://williamsburgsrealestate.com/2009/10/13/what-are-those-gates-on-i64/](https://williamsburgsrealestate.com/2009/10/13/what-are-those-gates-on-i64/) This is the correct answer, they will convert all lanes of I64 to travel West (away from the coast) in the event of a hurricane or other emergency. The gates are to keep people from using the normal Eastbound on-ramps during an evacuation and wind up head-on with Westbound traffic. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-barriers-for/816041/11 "2018-06-14T13:58:45Z")
Yeah. We have those in the mountains to close down roads because of accidents or weather.