Jersey Barrier Dimensions and Weight in the UAE: The Spec Card Your Crane Operator Wants Before He Quotes

A QS in Al Ain emailed us a BOQ last month. Line 4.2: “Supply precast concrete jersey barrier, 3m.” Nothing else. No height, no weight, no profile. The crane sub priced it on 900kg a unit. The barriers that fit the RTA diversion weighed 1,500kg. The 25 tonne crane he booked could not reach the far lane at that load. Two days lost arguing about who pays for the 50 tonner.

“Jersey barrier” is not a size. It is a shape. Here is every dimension that matters for the barriers actually sold in the UAE, with the weights, the truck counts and the crane maths.

The Shape First, Then the Numbers

A jersey barrier has a sloped face designed to lift a car’s wheel and steer it back into the lane rather than stop it dead. The classic New Jersey profile is 810mm tall with a 75mm vertical kerb at the bottom, a 55 degree lower slope, then a steeper 84 degree upper face. The F-type profile is the same idea with a lower break point, 255mm instead of 330mm from the ground, which reduces rollover for small cars. On a UAE highway RTA and Abu Dhabi DMT lean to the F-type for permanent medians. For temporary works both are accepted.

Single-sided barriers have one sloped face and a flat back. They sit against a hoarding or an excavation edge. Double-sided have the slope on both faces for medians and two-way diversions.

What this means for you: height is largely fixed by the profile, length is what you choose, and weight follows from both.

The UAE Size Table

These are the sizes we cast (see the barrier product range) and the sizes you will meet from other UAE yards. Weights assume normal-weight C40/50 concrete at about 2,400kg per cubic metre and a standard reinforcement cage. Lightweight or hollow units exist but are rare on road work.

Unit	Length	Height	Base width	Top width	Weight range	Typical use
Mini / temporary	1.5m	600 to 800mm	400 to 500mm	150 to 200mm	300 to 500kg	Car parks, event lines, forklift handling
Standard 2m interlocking	2.0m	800 to 1,000mm	450 to 600mm	150 to 200mm	750 to 900kg	Site perimeters, service road diversions under 60 km/h
Standard 3m jersey	3.0m	810 to 1,000mm	600 to 650mm	150 to 200mm	1,200 to 1,600kg	RTA and DMT diversions, median work, long runs
F-type highway	3.0 to 4.0m	1,067mm	600 to 700mm	200 to 230mm	1,800 to 2,400kg	Permanent highway medians, 100 km/h plus
Tall double-sided	2.0 to 4.0m	1,200 to 1,500mm	800 to 1,000mm	200 to 250mm	2,000 to 3,500kg	Anti-glare medians, security lines, HVM supplements
Anti-ram / T-wall	3.0m	1,800 to 3,600mm	1,000 to 1,500mm	200 to 300mm	4,500 to 6,000kg	SIRA and DCD security perimeters

Round your estimates up, not down. A 3m unit with a full cage, lifting inserts and a wet surface in August weighs more than the brochure says.

Which Length to Order

1m to 1.5m: only where a forklift is the lifting plant, or where you need to thread a line between tree pits and lamp posts. Too many joints for a traffic diversion. Each joint is a weak point and a gap risk.

2m: the site barrier. Light enough for a Hiab on a 10 tonne truck, 12 to 14 units a load, and short enough to turn a tight corner without cutting. Our default for hoarding lines, laydown yards and anything inside a plot.

3m: the road barrier. Fewer joints, better alignment, better containment along a run. Heavier handling: a Hiab on a 10 tonne truck manages 2 or 3 per lift radius before the stabilisers argue. Most RTA diversions over 60 km/h are 3m runs with 2m units only at the flares and gates.

4m: permanent medians cast to a highway drawing. Not a stock item. Allow 3 to 4 weeks lead time and a 50 tonne crane.

The arithmetic for a run is in our takeoff guide. The short version: a 300m run is 100 units of 3m or 150 units of 2m, before corners, gates and flares.

Weight Decides Three Things

1. The crane

Crane capacity falls fast with radius. Rough field numbers our riggers use for a dry, level site:

Unit weight	Hiab on 10 tonne truck	25 tonne mobile	50 tonne mobile
800kg (2m)	Up to 8m radius	Up to 18m	Any normal site radius
1,500kg (3m)	Up to 5m radius	Up to 12m	Up to 20m
2,400kg (F-type)	Not recommended	Up to 8m	Up to 16m
5,500kg (T-wall)	No	Up to 5m	Up to 11m

Placing a 3m barrier in the far lane of a 3-lane carriageway from the hard shoulder is a 12m to 14m reach. That is 50 tonne territory. Price the crane from the furthest unit, not the nearest.

2. The truck

A 40ft flatbed in the UAE runs to about 24 to 26 tonnes of payload before you argue with the weighbridge at the border or on E311.

• 2m units at 850kg: 12 to 14 per load, deck length permitting.
• 3m units at 1,500kg: 6 to 7 per load, usually stacked two high on timber.
• F-type at 2,400kg: 5 to 6 per load, single layer or two high with proper dunnage.
• T-walls at 5,500kg: 4 per load.

Our handling guide covers how to stack them without spalling the edges.

3. The ground

A 3m barrier at 1,500kg on a 600mm base puts roughly 8 kN per linear metre on the ground. Compacted sub-base and asphalt do not care. Freshly backfilled trench does. Barriers on a soft verge over a DEWA cable trench will settle and the joints will open. Put them on the asphalt side of the trench, or on a bearing timber.

Lifting Inserts and Connections

Every unit should have cast-in lifting points rated for the unit weight with a safety factor of at least 4. Two inserts per unit for 2m and 3m, four for F-type and T-wall. Barriers with no lifting points, or with a single hook eye in the top, are refurbished stock from an unknown source. Our used barrier inspection guide covers what else to check. Ask what cage is inside.

Connections you will meet in the UAE:

• Pin and loop: a steel loop at each end, a pin dropped through two mated loops. Fast, strong, and the loops stay aligned when the ground is not quite level. Our standard.
• Male and female interlock: a tongue cast into one end, a groove in the other. Quick for site lines, weaker in a crash because the joint only resists shear.
• Bolt-through: two plates and threaded bar through the end faces. Used on permanent medians.

RTA WZTM treats unconnected barriers as individual blocks. Connected barriers act as a system and get credit for containment. If your TMP says “connected concrete barrier”, every unit on the run needs a pin in it.

Reflectors, Paint and Height

RTA requires reflective panels on barriers in the ROW. The usual spec is Class 2 or better reflective sheeting, alternating red and white chevrons for permanent and yellow and black for construction, fitted at 400mm to 600mm above the ground. On a 810mm barrier that is the top third of the sloped face. Fit them before the crane lifts the barrier, not after. The 7 mistakes RTA fines for are listed in our RTA fine trap guide.

Paint colour does not change the dimension but it changes the price (full ranges in the 2026 price guide): unpainted grey is standard, yellow and black bands add AED 25 to 45 a unit at the yard.

Jersey vs K-Rail vs F-Type: Same Family, Different Numbers

Contractors coming from US or Saudi projects ask for K-rail. K-rail is California’s name for a 20ft (6.1m) jersey profile at 810mm. In the UAE you will not find 6.1m stock. The 3m jersey is the practical equivalent. F-type is the taller cousin with a different slope break, used where the specification says permanent highway median.

If your drawing says K-rail, ask the consultant whether they mean the profile or the length before you order. Nine times out of ten they mean “3m jersey, connected.”

Quick Spec Card: Save This

	2m interlocking	3m jersey	F-type
Height	800 to 1,000mm	810 to 1,000mm	1,067mm
Base width	450 to 600mm	600 to 650mm	600 to 700mm
Weight	750 to 900kg	1,200 to 1,600kg	1,800 to 2,400kg
Units per 100m	50	34	34 (25 if 4m)
Units per 40ft trailer	12 to 14	6 to 7	5 to 6
Lifting	Hiab or forklift	Hiab close, mobile crane far	Mobile crane
Connection	Interlock or pin	Pin and loop	Pin and loop or bolt
Suits	Site lines, roads under 60 km/h	RTA and DMT diversions	Permanent highway medians

Checklist for Your BOQ Line

1. State the profile: single-sided, double-sided jersey or F-type.
2. State the length and tolerance: “3,000mm, plus or minus 10mm.”
3. State height and base width, not just “standard.”
4. State the connection type and that every unit is to be connected.
5. State the reflector spec and colour.
6. State concrete grade (C40/50 is the UAE norm for road barriers) and cover (40mm minimum for exposed concrete in this climate).
7. State the unit weight so the crane sub can price it.
8. State delivery location and whether crane offload is included.

FAQs

Need the Weight Certificate?

Send your BOQ line or drawing and we return the unit weight, crane recommendation and truck count within 2 hours. WhatsApp +971 58 660 9400.