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                        Hardware Eligibility Letters


            
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                Safety Eligibility Letter WZ-231
  
  **Hardware Type:**
            Work Zone Devices
                          **Code:**
            WZ-231
                          **Date:**
            04/13/2007
                          **Testing Criteria:**
            NCHRP 350
                          **Manufacturer:**
            Davidson Plastics Corp
                          **Device Description:**
            FG 300 EFX Channelizer on low profile rubber base
                          **View PDF:**
            wz231rev.pdf (350.31 KB)
    
    
Skip to contentSkip to contentUnited States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway AdministrationApril 13, 2007
In Reply Refer To:

HSSD/WZ-231
Mr. Peter
  Speer
Davidson
  Traffic Control Products
Filtrona
  Extrusion, Inc.
w:st="on">
  3110 70th Avenue East
Tacoma,
  WA 98424
Dear Mr. Speer:
Thank you for your letter of October 12, 2006, requesting the
  Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) acceptance of your company's FG300 EFX
  Series channelizer post mounted to a
35 pound portable rubber base as a crashworthy traffic
  control device for use on the National Highway System (NHS).  Accompanying your letter was background
  information regarding informal tests conducted.  You requested that we find this device acceptable for use on the NHS under
  the provisions of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)
  Report 350 "Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of
  Highway Features."
A drawing of the proposed FG300 EFX Series channelizer post
  mounted to a 35 pound portable rubber base is enclosed.  The complete assembly is comprised of the
  following components:
Component
    Composition/Brand
    Dimensions (inches)
    Weight
    Quantity12 x 44 sign
    0.125 inch UHMW
    12 x 44 x 0.125 thick
    2.7 lbs.
    1-2 eachFG 348 EFX post
    Polyurethane alloy
    3 x 2 x 48 tall x 0.15 thick
    1.9 lbs.
    1 eachFG 300 base
    ABS
    8 in. round x 2 in. tall
    1.5 lbs.
    1 eachRubber Base
    Recycled Rubber
    14 x 30 x 2 thick
    35 lbs.
    1 eachHardware Kit
    Steel
    3/8 x 2 bolt, nuts
    0.5 lbs.
    1 eachBased on our records of successfully crash tested vertical
  panels, equivalent designs such as yours are inherently safe.  Therefore, lightweight vertical panels with
  no lights attached, mounted to a flexible or a low-profile weighted base, and
  with a top panel height measuring no more than 48 inches, are now accepted by
  the FHWA as a Category 1 device and may be self-certified by the vendor.  Delineators are Category 1 devices as
  well.  As a reminder, crash testing is
  still needed to determine the FHWA acceptance of vertical panels with lights
  attached.
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-231, 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
  device 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,
John R. Baxter, P.E.
John R. Baxter,
P.E.
Director, Office
  of Safety Design
Office of Safety
Enclosure
product image

**October 12, 2005**

**Refer to: HSA-10/WZ-177 Amendment 1**

Mr. Randy L. Warner
	V.P. Purchasing/Product Development
	Protection Services Inc.
	635 Lucknow Road
	Harrisburg, PA  17110

Dear Mr. Warner:

Thank you for your email message of August 12, 2005 requesting the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) acceptance of your company's vertical panel for use in excavations adjacent to open travel lanes.  We initially accepted this device for use in 8-inch deep excavations via the FHWA acceptance letter WZ-177 dated December 2, 2004.  The vertical panel, framed with 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 14 gauge, perforated Telespar tubing was found acceptable by virtue of the similarity of that framing material to generic barricade designs, and because it was to be placed in a location essentially inaccessible to traffic.  Although our letter limits the use of the device to 8-inch deep excavations, we consider it also acceptable in any depth excavation 4 inches or deeper.  The length of the vertical framing elements may be altered in order to maintain the height of the retroreflective vertical panel at the proper height above the pavement.
 
As with most portable work zone traffic control devices, we consider the use of a nominal number of sandbags placed on the skids of this device acceptable to prevent the device from being overturned by wind gusts.
 
Please note that the FHWA has not accepted any other portable work channelizers such as vertical panels, specifically for use in excavations of any depth adjacent to open lanes of traffic.  If you wish to conduct crash tests on your company's vertical panel in order to qualify it for use on flat pavement as well as in excavations up to 4 inches in depth, we will consider your device provisionally acceptable for one year from this date pending successful completion of the crash testing.
 
Finally, note that the other conditions and restrictions found in the FHWA acceptance Letter WZ-177 remain in effect.

Sincerely yours,

		

		
John R. Baxter, P.E.
						Director, Office of Safety Design
						Office of Safety




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