Bismarck – A new safety device is coming to certain stretches of North Dakota Highways, all in the hopes of saving lives.

The Department of Transportation says they’ve started installing new cable median barriers on I-94 in Bismarck.

D-O-T officials also say the barriers are made of three or four steel cables strung on posts and act like a net when a vehicle hits them.

They are meant to bend and not break, keeping vehicles from crossing the grassy median and colliding with an oncoming vehicle.

KX News talked with the D-O-T about why they are bringing the system to Bismarck.

“It started with our vision zero initiative, they went through and looked at areas with higher traffic volumes and crashes with people crossing the median, and this was one of the locations that were chosen because of that,” said ND DOT Assistant District Engineer Tyler Wollmuth.

Crews are also installing the barriers on segments of I-29 near Fargo and Grand Forks.

The Federal Highway Administration says the barriers result in a 97 percent reduction in cross-median crashes.

The installation is expected to be completed by the fall.