The Switch Blade Concrete Barrier Marker: Built for Visibility, Designed for Efficiency
What Barrier Delineation Challenges are Agencies and Contractors Facing?
Transportation agencies and contractors face three common barrier delineation challenges: maintaining visibility in demanding roadway environments, minimizing maintenance costs, and reducing worker exposure during repairs.
Concrete barrier markers are routinely exposed to traffic impacts, roadway debris, snowplow operations, harsh weather, and long-term UV exposure. Over time, this can damage markers, reduce visibility, and create the need for replacement. When traditional barrier markers are damaged, crews often must replace the entire unit, increasing labor requirements, replacement costs, and the amount of time spent working near active traffic.
These challenges can have a direct impact on both roadway safety and maintenance operations. As transportation agencies continue to prioritize roadway safety, they need barrier delineation solutions that not only provide long-term visibility but also simplify maintenance and help reduce lifecycle costs.
Introducing a Smarter Solution with the Switch Blade
Pexco Traffic is proud to introduce the Switch Blade Concrete Barrier Marker to address these real-world challenges with input from State DOTs, transportation professionals, and field installers. Drawing on customer feedback and decades of roadway polymer manufacturing expertise, we focused on designing a barrier marker that would be easier to maintain while continuing to deliver dependable field performance.
What is the Switch Blade?
The Switch Blade Concrete Barrier Marker is a two-piece, modular roadway delineation system consisting of a permanently mounted polymer base and a field-replaceable reflective blade, designed to reduce maintenance time and cost on concrete barriers, medians, and work zones.
The Switch Blade is manufactured by Pexco LLC, a North American leader in custom polymer extrusions for traffic safety applications.
Key Features of the Switch Blade
The Switch Blade combines visibility, durability, and maintenance efficiency in a single solution designed specifically for roadway applications.
Key features include:
- Replaceable blade design that allows damaged blades to be changed without removing the mounting base, helping reduce labor, material costs, and crew exposure near active traffic
- Extruded, rib-reinforced blade is engineered for demanding roadway conditions, including heavy snow loads and challenging maintenance environments.
- High-visibility performance optimized for reflective sheeting adhesion to support long-term visibility in low-light and adverse weather conditions.
- Flexible installation options using epoxy or anchor bolts on concrete barriers and similar structures.
- Multiple size configurations, including standard 6-inch, 9-inch, and 12-inch panel heights, with custom lengths available.
- Adjustable positioning to accommodate curves, transitions, and site-specific roadway alignments.
Efficient bulk packaging with 100 blades and 100 bases per box for streamlined inventory and distribution.
Switch Blade Specifications at a Glance
| Installation | Epoxy or anchor bolt |
| Material | UV- and weather-resistant reinforced polymer |
| Packaging | 100 blades + 100 bases per box |
| Manufacturer | Pexco Traffic, a division of Pexco LLC |
| Applications | Concrete barriers, medians, work zones, toll roads, bridge approaches |
How Can the Switch Blade Support Your Next Project?
The Switch Blade Concrete Barrier Marker is suited for new roadway projects, barrier delineation upgrades, and maintenance simplification programs. The Switch Blade offers a durable, serviceable solution designed for today’s transportation infrastructure.
Manufactured by Pexco Traffic Safety, a division of Pexco LLC, the Switch Blade is available for specification by state DOTs, transportation agencies, engineering firms, contractors, and distributors throughout North America.
Interested in learning more?
Contact Pexco’s Traffic Safety Solutions team to learn more about our newest innovation firsthand at www.pexco.com/contact-us.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes the Switch Blade different from traditional concrete barrier markers?
The Switch Blade features a modular design that separates the reflective blade from the mounting base. If the blade becomes damaged, crews can replace only the blade while leaving the base securely installed, helping reduce maintenance time, labor, and replacement costs.
What applications are Switch Blades designed for?
The Switch Blade is designed for a variety of traffic safety and infrastructure applications, including concrete barriers, median barriers, work zones, utility marking, drainage identification, toll roads, and other roadway delineation needs where visibility and durability are important.
What Switch Blade sizes are available?
The Switch Blade is available in standard 6-inch, 9-inch, and 12-inch panel heights. Custom lengths are also available for specialized applications and project-specific requirements.
How is the Switch Blade installed?
The Switch Blade installs directly onto concrete barriers and similar structures using either epoxy or anchor bolts giving agencies flexibility to match their specifications and field conditions.
Is the Switch Blade designed for harsh weather conditions?
Yes, the Switch Blade is manufactured from a high-performance polymer that is UV resistant, weather resistant, and reinforced for long-term roadway exposure. It is also designed to perform in environments where snowplow operations and winter maintenance activities are common.
Can the marker be positioned at different angles?
Yes, the Switch Blade mounting base features a versatile mounting pattern that allows installers to adjust the marker’s orientation. This flexibility can help optimize visibility on curves, transitions, and other roadway alignments where a fixed-position marker may not provide the ideal viewing angle.