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FHWA Home / Safety / Roadway Departure / Safety Eligibility Letter

Safety Eligibility Letter WZ - 314

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U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
400 Seventh St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590

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May 4, 2012

In Reply Refer To: HSST/WZ-314

Glenda Bleau
Sales Supervisor & Product Manager
MDI Traffic Control Products
38271 W Twelve Mile Road
Farmington Hills, Michigan  48331

Dear Ms. Bleau:

This letter is in response to your request for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to review a roadside safety system for eligibility for reimbursement under the Federal-aid highway program.

Name of system: 4814CAMA
Type of system:

X-Footprint compact portable sign stand

Test Level:

NCHRP Report 350 Test Level 3

Testing conducted by: N/A
Date of request: July 14, 2011

           
Decision:
The following device is eligible, with details provided in the form which is attached as an integral part of this letter:

Based on a review of past crash test results and a description of the non-significant modification submitted by the manufacturer certifying the device described herein meets the crash test and evaluation criteria of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350, the device is eligible for reimbursement under the Federal-aid highway program.  Eligibility for reimbursement under the Federal-aid highway program does not establish approval or endorsement by the FHWA for any particular purpose or use. 

The FHWA, the Department of Transportation, and the United States Government do not endorse products or services and the issuance of a reimbursement eligibility letter is not an endorsement of any product or service.

Requirements
To be found eligible for Federal-aid funding, roadside safety devices should meet the crash test and evaluation criteria contained in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350 or the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH).

Description
The crash tested stand, Model Number 4814DLK (FHWA Letter WZ-3) was modified by including an upright with a camlock (FHWA Letter WZ-20) instead of a “drop and lock.”  We concur that this stand qualifies as a "compact sign stand" requiring no additional crash testing.

Summary and Standard Provisions
Therefore, the system described and detailed in the attached form is eligible for reimbursement and may be installed under the range of conditions tested.  

Please note the following standard provisions that apply to FHWA eligibility letters:

MDI portable sign stands are patented products and considered proprietary.  If proprietary systems are specified by a highway agency for use on Federal-aid projects: (a) they must be supplied through competitive bidding with equally suitable unpatented items; (b) the highway agency must certify that they are essential for synchronization with the existing highway facilities or that no equally suitable alternative exists; or (c) they must be used for research or for a distinctive type of construction on relatively short sections of road for experimental purposes.  Our regulations concerning proprietary products are contained in Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 635.411.

Sincerely yours,

 

Michael S. Griffith
Director, Office of Safety Technologies
Office of Safety

Enclosures

Page last modified on June 24, 2011
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Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000