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                Safety Eligibility Letter WZ-128
  
  **Hardware Type:**
            Work Zone Devices
                          **Code:**
            WZ-128
                          **Date:**
            07/12/2002
                          **Testing Criteria:**
            NCHRP 350
                          **Manufacturer:**
            Three-D Traffic Works
                          **Device Description:**
            Type III Barricade 7/12/02
                          **View PDF:**
            wz128.pdf (393.65 KB)
    
    
Refer 
  to: HSA-10/WZ-128
Mr. Scott Behm
Three D 
  Traffic Works, Incorporated
430 North 
  Varney Street
Burbank, California  91502
Dear Mr. 
  Behm:
Thank you for your letter of May 6, 2002, 
  requesting Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) acceptance of variations to 
  your company's Type III barricades as crashworthy traffic control devices for 
  use in work zones on the National Highway System (NHS).  You requested that 
  we find your company's Type III barricades 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."  Your letter requested 
  an update to WZ-82 dated September 14, 2001, and compared your barricade rails 
  to others that have already been crash tested and found acceptable by the FHWA.
Introduction
The FHWA guidance on crash testing of 
  work zone traffic control devices is contained in two memoranda.  The first, 
  dated July 25, 1997, titled "INFORMATION: Identifying Acceptable Highway 
  Safety Features," established four categories of work zone devices: Category 
  I devices were those lightweight devices which could be self-certified by the 
  vendor, Category II devices were other lightweight devices which needed individual 
  crash testing, Category III devices were barriers and other fixed or massive 
  devices also needing crash testing, and Category IV devices were trailer mounted 
  lighted signs, arrow panels, etc.  The second guidance memorandum was issued 
  on August 28, 1998, and is titled "INFORMATION: Crash Tested Work Zone 
  Traffic Control Devices." This later memorandum lists devices that are acceptable 
  under Categories I, II, and III.
The following two barricades were described in detail and found acceptable in FHWA Acceptance Letter WZ-82 mentioned above:
Type III Plastic and Metal Barricade, Model No. TD 2000, with 25.4 mm (1 inch) extruded board manufactured by Davidson Plastics Corporation with metal uprights and metal feet.  Overall mass of this barricade is 22.25 kg (49 pounds.)
Type III Plastic and Metal Barricade, Model No. TD 2000, with 50.8 mm (2 inch) injection-molded board manufactured by Three D Traffic Works, Incorporated with metal uprights and metal feet. Overall mass of this barricade is 29 kg (64 pounds.)Your present request is to permit the 
  use of the following extrusions as rail elements for these barricades:
Three-D Traffic Work's 2 x 8 rail 
    extruded from specially formulated polyolefin (HDPE with added UV protection 
    and polymer stabilizers), weighing 1 pound, 1 1⁄2 ounces per foot.
  Three-D Traffic Work's 1 x 8 rail 
    extruded from specially formulated polyolefin, weighing 13 ounces per foot.Findings
The two rails described above and shown 
  in the enclosed drawings for reference are similar in size, structure, and composition 
  to previously tested rails and/or other barricade rails that have been found 
  acceptable for use.  Therefore, the devices described above and shown in the 
  enclosed drawings for reference, plus smaller Type III barricades in the same 
  family of products are acceptable for use as Test Level 3 devices on the NHS 
  under the range of conditions tested, when proposed by a State.  Please note 
  that barricade panels must be rigidly attached to the barricade frame using 
  bolts, nuts, and washers similar to those used on the tested barricades.  Barricade 
  rails should not extend more than 200 mm (8 inches) beyond the uprights.
Please note the following standard provisions, 
  which apply to FHWA letters of acceptance:
Our 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 
    FHWA and NCHRP Report 350.
  To prevent misunderstanding by others, 
    this letter of acceptance, designated as number WZ-128 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.Three D Traffic Works products may include 
  patented components and if so are considered "proprietary."  The use 
  of proprietary work zone traffic control devices in Federal-aid projects is 
  generally of a temporary nature.  They are selected by the contractor for use 
  as needed and removed upon completion of the project.  Under such conditions 
  they can be presumed to meet requirement "a" given below for the use 
  of proprietary products on Federal-aid projects.  On the other hand, if proprietary 
  devices are specified 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 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, a copy of which is enclosed.
Sincerely yours,
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

202-366-4000Subscribe to email updates
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