DESIGN MEMORANDUM NO. 10-98

TO:                                           Chief District Engineers
                                                  Active Consultants
                                                  Construction Engineers
                                                  Active Consultants

FROM:                                     John B. Sacksteder, P.E.
                                                  Director, Division of Highway Design

                                                  Dexter Newman, Director
                                                  Director, Division of Construction

DATE:                                      September 11, 1998

SUBJECT:                               NCHRP 350 Guardrail and Safety Devices

SUBJECT: NCHRP 350 Guardrail and Safety Devices

On October 1, 1998, new FHWA requirements for Guardrail and other safety devices go into effect. These requirements primarily consist of complying with the NCHRP 350 crash test. In order to comply with these new requirements, changes had to be made to the Standards Drawings. Although there are numerous drawings that are effected, these changes can be generalized into four categories:

1. The deletion of steel offset block as an option in new guardrail installations, only wooden or plastic offset blocks are available.

2. Guardrail End Treatment Type 1 (currently and ET 2000) will now permit an alternate device (SKT 350). Either device will be acceptable as an End Treatment Type 1.

3. Guardrail End Treatment Type 3A has changes from a generice device (MELT) to a proprietary product, the ROSS 350.

4. Crash Cushions Type VI and VI-T have changed to a QuadGuard and Crash Cushion Type VII changes to a wide QuadGuard.

These changes must be applied to all projects let after October 1, 1998.

It should be noted that the unit bid item names have NOT changed, only the details of the items they represent.

The revised drawings have been placed on the Active Sepia List and full size reproducibles are available from the Standard Drawing Section of the Division of Highway Design. These will be added to the Standard Drawing with the next revision to that manual.

JBS:DN:WSG:jq

Attachments

See Active Sepia List dated 10-1-98