Five drivers hit the same barrier the year before the Tesla accident and a second human piloted vehicle fataly struck the same barrier just two months after the Tesa crash.
It is absolutely a road design and maintenance issue.
How many drivers didn't hit the same barrier that year?
It just seems like an edge case that's catching inattentive drivers off guard, which IMHO is a category including Tesla's on autopilot. And it seems Tesla agrees here; they require drivers pay attention when using Autopilot. If your vehicle runs into a barrier on Autopilot, you weren't paying attention.
It is absolutely a road design and maintenance issue.