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                Safety Eligibility Letter B-174
  
  **Hardware Type:**
            Longitudinal Barriers and Bridge Rails
                          **Code:**
            B-174
                          **Date:**
            04/16/2008
                          **Testing Criteria:**
            NCHRP 350
                          **Manufacturer:**
            Monroeville Industrial Molding
                          **Device Description:**
            Monroeville 8' Composite Offset Block & 12" MGS Composite Offset Block
                          **View PDF:**
            b174.pdf (1.03 MB)
    
    Safety Eligibility Letter B-174

			 
			**Download Version**PDF [592 KB]
			
			DOT logoU.S. Department of Transportation**Federal Highway Administration**
			1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E.Washington, D.C. 20590
			April 16, 2008
			In Reply Refer To: HSSD/B-174
			
			Mr. Michael J. Burkett
				President
				Monroeville Industrial  Molding
				75 Ontario    Street
				Norwalk,   OH 44857
			Dear  Mr. Burkett:
			This letter is in response to your request for Federal  Highway Administration (FHWA) acceptance of a roadside safety device for use on  the National Highway System (NHS).
			Name of  device:
					Monroeville  8 inch Composite Offset BlockMonroeville 12 inch MGS Composite Offset BlockType of  device:
					Blockouts for W-beam  barrier systemsTest Level:
					NCHRP Report 350  TL-3Testing  conducted by:
					E-Tech Testing  ServicesDate of  request:
					January  30, 2008You requested that we find these devices acceptable for use  on the NHS under the provisions of National Cooperative Highway Research  Program (NCHRP) Report 350 “Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance  Evaluation of Highway Features.”
			**Requirements** Roadside  safety devices should meet the guidelines contained in the NCHRP Report 350,  "Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway  Features". FHWA Memorandum “ACTION: Identifying Acceptable Highway  Safety Features” of July 25, 1997, provides further guidance on crash testing  requirements of longitudinal barriers.
			**Description** Both the  standard w-beam guardrail, normally mounted at 27 3⁄4 inches to the top, and the  Midwest Guardrail System (MGS) barrier, normally mounted at 31 inches to the  top, require offset blocks to reduce the impact of vehicle wheels snagging on  the posts. Burkett Molding, Inc.,  received FHWA acceptance letter B-109B, dated March 17, 2004, for an 8-inch  deep offset block. As your company,  Monroeville Industrial Molding now owns the rights to the Burkett offset blocks  you have asked for a letter in your company’s name. You also had an additional test conducted  using a 12-inch deep version of this offset block for use on the MGS. Your present request includes acceptance of  the larger offset block.
			The Monroeville offset  blocks were installed in a 175-foot long test section of MGS w-beam guardrail. The line posts were 6 inches deep x 4 inches  wide x 72 inches long galvanized steel and embedded to 40 inches. The line posts supported a length of need  section of AASHTO standard RWM03a (12 ga) w-beam guardrail. The rail sections are spliced together with (8) AASHTO standard FBB01 guardrail bolts and recessed  nuts such that the splices are positioned mid-span between posts. The 12-inch deep x 4-inch wide x 14-inch high  “Monroeville P” plastic blockout is positioned between the post and rail and  secured in place with a single 0.625-inch diameter FBC16 carriage bolt  installed in the upstream bolt hole position.
			**Crash Testing** The test  of the MGS barrier with the 12-inch Monroeville  offset blocks is summarized in the test data sheet, enclosed for reference. The 2000P vehicle was contained by the barrier  and remained in contact with it, experiencing a yaw of approximately 70  degrees. All occupant risk values met  NCHRP Report 350 criteria. The Midwest  Roadside Safety Facility, developer of the MGS barrier, concurred in the  positive evaluation of the test using the Monroeville  offset blocks.
			**Findings** The MGS barrier using the 12-inch Monroeville Offset Blocks  described in the above and detailed in the enclosed drawing is acceptable for  use on the NHS under the range of conditions tested, when proposed by a State.
			Also, the 8-inch offset blocks developed by Burkett Molding  and manufactured by Monroeville Industrial Molding discussed in FHWA acceptance  letter B-109B continue to be acceptable for use.
			**Standard Provisions**Please  note the following standard provisions that apply to the FHWA letters of  acceptance:
			This acceptance is limited to the  crashworthiness characteristics of the devices and does not cover their  structural features, nor conformity with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control  Devices.
				Any changes that may adversely  influence the crashworthiness of the device will require a new acceptance  letter.
				Should the FHWA discover that the  qualification testing was flawed, that in-service performance reveals  unacceptable safety problems, or that the device being marketed is  significantly different from the version that was crash tested, we reserve the  right to modify or revoke our acceptance.
				You will be expected to supply  potential users with sufficient information on design and installation  requirements to ensure proper performance.
				You will be expected to certify to  potential users that the hardware furnished has essentially the same chemistry,  mechanical properties, and geometry as that submitted for acceptance, and that  it will meet the crashworthiness requirements of the FHWA and the NCHRP Report  350.
				To prevent misunderstanding by others,  this letter of acceptance is designated as number B-174 and B-109C and shall  not be reproduced except in full. This  letter and the test documentation upon which it is based are public  information. All such letters and  documentation may be reviewed at our office upon request.
				The Monroeville Offset Blocks are  patented products and considered proprietary.  If proprietary devices are specified by a highway agency for use on  Federal-aid projects, except exempt, non-NHS projects, they: (a) 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.
				This acceptance  letter shall not be construed as authorization or consent by the FHWA to use,  manufacture, or sell any patented device for which the applicant is not the  patent holder. The acceptance letter is  limited to the crashworthiness characteristics of the candidate device, and the  FHWA is neither prepared nor required to become involved in issues concerning  patent law. Patent issues, if any, are  to be resolved by the applicant.Sincerely yours,
						George E. Rice, Jr.
						*for*
								David A. Nicol, P.E.Director, Office of Safety DesignOffice of Safety2 Enclosures
			Illustration d-2. Monroeville 12” P Block (1 of 1) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

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