By AP/KWMU
Joplin, MO – State highway officials say median guard cables along Interstate 70 in Missouri are preventing accidents.
The officials say the cables are 94% effective at stopping vehicles from crossing the median.
From 1996 to 2004, more than 400 people were killed and 2,400 injured in cross-median accidents.
On I-70, 24 people died in 2002, but just six deaths were reported last year, with the cables in place.
There are 179 miles of cable along the highway. The installation cost about $20 million.
Officials plan to install more cables on Interstates 44 and 29 between Kansas City and St. Joseph.