Refer to: HSA-10/LS-53

Mr. Robert A. Sik 

Vice President 

Akron Foundry 

2728 Wingate Avenue 

Akron, Ohio 44314 

Dear Mr. Sik: 

 

Thank you for your letter of May 1, 2002, requesting Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) 

acceptance of a modification to your company’s TS-1000 Threaded Traffic Signal Pedestal Base 

and TS-1000 Modified Threaded Traffic Signal Pedestal Base as breakaway bases for use on the 

National Highway System (NHS). Accompanying your letter were drawings of the original and 

modified bases. You requested that we find the modifications to these bases 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.” 

Introduction 

Testing of the supports was in compliance with the guidelines contained in the NCHRP Report 

350, Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features. 

Requirements for breakaway supports are those in the American Association of State Highway 

and Transportation Officials' Standard Specifications for Structural Supports for Highway Signs, 

Luminaires and Traffic Signals. 

Testing 

Full-scale automobile testing was conducted on the TS-1000 bases, and they were accepted in 

our November 19, 1997, letter LS-47. The proposed change to the bases involves adding a collar 

to the top to provide a more secure anchorage for the pole that is threaded into the top of the 

base. Because these bases’ crash performance is by virtue of their breaking at the bottom, the 

addition of the collar and/or gussets at the top should have no adverse affect on their breakaway 

performance. 

Findings 

Because the performance of the subject bases modified with the collar (designated TS-1000-L) 

and/or gussets (designated TS-1000-L With Gussets) is expected to be similar to the crash tested 

bases, the devices described above and shown in the enclosed drawings for reference 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 the following standard provisions, which apply to FHWA letters of acceptance: 
2

• 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 LS-53 shall not be reproduced except in full. As this letter and the 

supporting documentation which support it become public information, it will be 

available for inspection at our office by interested parties. 

The Akron Foundry bases are or will be patented products and are considered 

"proprietary." The use of proprietary devices specified on Federal-aid projects, except 

exempt, non-NHS projects: (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