TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 493: Practices for High-Tension Cable Barriers reports on the current state of the practice for high-tension cable barriers (HTCB) used in the medians of access-controlled roadways in the United States. Information on high-tension cable barrier systems related to state agency specifications, special provisions, design standards, and installation and maintenance concerns was collected. Because all of the HTCB systems currently eligible for use on public roads in the United States are proprietary, information was also obtained from each of the manufacturers of these systems.