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                Safety Eligibility Letter B-49C
  
  **Hardware Type:**
            Longitudinal Barriers and Bridge Rails
                          **Code:**
            B-49C
                          **Date:**
            09/18/2002
                          **Testing Criteria:**
            NCHRP 350
                          **Manufacturer:**
            Bryson Products, Inc.
                          **Device Description:**
            RE-BLOCK:IV plastic blockout
                          **View PDF:**
            b49c.pdf (1.06 MB)
    
    
September 18, 2002
HSA-10/B49C
Mr. Chad Heimbecker
  Director, Product Development
  Bryson Products, Inc.
  224 Nazareth Pike, Suite 22
  Bethlehem, PA 18020
Dear Mr. Heimbecker:
In your July 25 letter to Mr. Richard Powers of my staff, you requested formal 
  acceptance of a revised plastic guardrail offset block named RE-BLOCK:IV and 
  provided a copy of a Texas Transportation Institute report dated July 19, 2002, 
  and entitled "Pendulum Testing and Evaluation of the Central Fabricator's Guardrail 
  Blockout."
The RE-BLOCK:IV, as shown in the enclosure, is a hollow 4 inch x 8 inch block 
  with three horizontal stabilizer bars and a depth of 14 inches for use with 
  W-beam and 21-5/8 inches for use with Thrie-beam. Its material composition 
  is similar to the original RE-BLOCK, using an average blend of 50 per cent HDPE 
  and 50 per cent LDPE. Additionally, successful pendulum tests were conducted 
  on a block made with 100 per cent HDPE and one made with 80 per cent HDPE and 
  20 per cent cross-linked HDPE/PP. All of these formulations include approximately 
  1 per cent carbon black to reduce the effects of UV degradation.
Based on staff review of the information you provided, the appropriate-sized 
  RE-BLOCK:IV may be used with wood or steel strong-post W-beam and Thrie-beam 
  guardrail systems on the National Highway System (NHS) when such use is acceptable 
  to the contracting agency.
Please note the following provisions that apply to all FHWA letters of acceptance 
  for synthetic offset blocks:
Any changes that could adversely influence the impact resistance of the 
    RE-BLOCK:IV may require a new acceptance letter.
  FHWA acceptance is based on the reported impact performance of the RE-BLOCK:IV 
    and is not intended to address the durability of this product.
  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 originally 
    approved, it reserves the right to modify or revoke its acceptance.
  You will be expected to certify to potential users that the material furnished 
    has essentially the same chemistry, mechanical properties, and geometry as 
    that submitted for acceptance,
  When proprietary products, such as the RE-BLOCK:IV, are specified for use 
    on Federal-aid projects, except exempt, non-NHS projects, they: (a) must 
    be supplied through competitive bidding (b) the highway agency must certify 
    that they are essential for synchronization with 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.Please contact Mr. Powers at (202) 366-1320 should you have questions.
Sincerely yours,
(original signed by Carol H. Jacoby)
Carol H. Jacoby, P.E.
  Director, Office of Safety Design
Enclosure U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

**Federal Highway Administration**

1200 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, SE

WASHINGTON, DC 20590

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