AASHTO Approves Schedule for installing roadway safety devices.

Press Release Summary:



AASHTO approved schedule for implementing use of roadside safety hardware devices – guardrails, crash cushions, etc – on National Highway System that meet new crash-testing standards. Members voted in support of said schedule, which will require new and replacement installations of roadside safety hardware on National Highway System to meet crash-testing standards laid out in AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH).



Original Press Release:



AASHTO Approves Schedule for Installing Devices That Meet Updated Crash-Testing Standards



WASHINGTON --The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials today announced that it has approved a schedule for implementing the use of roadside safety hardware devices (such as guardrail, crash cushions, etc.) on the National Highway System that meet new crash-testing standards.



AASHTO's members voted in support of the schedule that will require new and replacement installations of roadside safety hardware on the National Highway System to meet crash-testing standards laid out in the AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), which presents uniform guidelines for crash-testing permanent and temporary highway safety features and recommends evaluation criteria to assess test results. An update to the manual is expected in 2016.



"The nation's motor vehicle fleet continues to evolve and our roadside hardware must keep pace," said Bud Wright, AASHTO executive director. "Vehicles have increased in size and light-truck bumper heights are higher. It's important that AASHTO and the transportation safety community support the design and manufacture of roadside devices that meet the safety needs of America's changing vehicle fleet."



The schedule was established based on the anticipated availability of products that meet MASH criteria, including time needed to develop and test these devices. After the following dates, only safety hardware evaluated using the new edition of MASH will be allowed on the NHS for new permanent installations and full replacements:



December 31, 2017: w-beam barriers and cast-in-place concrete barrier

June 30, 2018: w-beam terminals



December 31, 2018: cable barriers, cable barrier terminals, and crash cushions



December 31, 2019: bridge rails, transitions, all other longitudinal barriers (including portable barriers installed permanently), all other terminals, sign supports, and all other breakaway hardware



Temporary work zone devices, including portable barriers, manufactured after December 31, 2019, must have been successfully tested to MASH. Such devices manufactured on or before this date, and successfully tested to NCHRP Report 350 or the 2009 edition of MASH, may continue to be used throughout their normal service lives.



State and local transportation agencies are encouraged to upgrade existing highway safety hardware to comply with the new edition of MASH, either when it becomes damaged beyond repair or when an individual agency's policies require an upgrade.



The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is the “Voice of Transportation” representing State Departments of Transportation in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association serving as a catalyst for excellence in transportation. Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/aashtospeaks.

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