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                Safety Eligibility Letter WZ-261
  
  **Hardware Type:**
            Work Zone Devices
                          **Code:**
            WZ-261
                          **Date:**
            12/06/2007
                          **Testing Criteria:**
            NCHRP 350
                          **Manufacturer:**
            ACOPAN
                          **Device Description:**
            Aluminum Laminate substrate (2, 3, and 4 mm)
                          **View PDF:**
            wz261.pdf (621.84 KB)
    
    
Skip to contentSkip to contentUnited States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway AdministrationDOT logo
U.S. Department of Transportation
**Federal Highway Administration**
1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590December 6, 2007
**In Reply Refer To: HSSD/WZ-261**
Mr. Shawn Kim
	President
	HUB International Trade/ACOPAN
	210-1103, Samsan 2 Town, Samsan 2 Dong
	Bupyeong-Gu, Incheon, 403-909
	South Korea

Dear Mr. Kim:

Thank you for your correspondence requesting the Federal  Highway Administration’s (FHWA) acceptance of Acopan 2 mm, 3 mm, and 4 mm thick  sign substrate. Accompanying your letter  were product specification certificates and samples of the substrate. You requested acceptance of Acopan as a sign  substrate for use with accepted sign stands on the National Highway System  (NHS) under the provisions of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program  (NCHRP) Report 350 “Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance  Evaluation of Highway Features.”
Upon request, you provided samples of the Acopan sign  substrate to the FHWA and a copy of the product specifications. The Acopan product specifications are enclosed. The Acopan sign substrate is a brand name of  aluminum laminate material. The material  properties of the 2 mm, 
  3 mm, and 4 mm Acopan substrate are nearly identical and  considered to be equivalent to other previously accepted 2 mm, 3 mm, and 4 mm  aluminum laminate sign substrates. Our  records indicate that 2 mm, 3 mm, and 4 mm aluminum laminate signs have been  successfully crash tested on portable stands made by a number of manufacturers  and are limited to use on the tested and accepted stands. Therefore, the FHWA accepts the use of Acopan  2 mm, 3 mm, and 4 mm aluminum laminate sign substrates for use on the NHS under  the range of conditions that equivalent materials have been tested and  accepted, when proposed by a State.
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, it reserves the right to modify or revoke its  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  they will meet the crashworthiness requirements of the FHWA and the NCHRP  Report 350.
  To prevent misunderstanding by others, this  letter of acceptance, designated as number WZ-261, shall not be reproduced  except in full. This letter, and the  test documentation upon which this letter is based, is public information. All such letters and documentation may be  reviewed at our office upon request.
  The  Acopan material is a patented product 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
George E. Rice, Jr.
Acting Director, Office of Safety Design
Office of SafetyEnclosure
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