I was watching a video game review earlier (*cough*NERD*cough*) and the host described a certain cover object as a "Jersey barrier." I guess I always assumed that "Jersey barrier" was a skate term, possibly referring to the first place that people started skating these objects. I can't imagine someone that doesn't skate referring to a particular kind of barrier with that specificity. So my question is one of etymology (or possibly just local ignorance); where does this term come from?