1200 New Jersey Ave., SE

 Washington, D.C. 20590

April 28,2020 

In Reply Refer To: 

HSST-1/B-336 

Mr. John Lee 

ETI USA, Inc.

14 Ormond Park Road 

Glen Head, NY 11545 

USA

Dear Mr. Lee: 

This letter is in response to your January 15, 2020 request for the Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA) to review a roadside safety device, hardware, or system for eligibility for 

reimbursement under the Federal-aid highway program. This FHWA letter of eligibility is 

assigned FHWA control number B-336 and is valid until a subsequent letter is issued by FHWA 

that expressly references this device.

Decision

The following device is eligible within the length-of-need, with details provided in the form 

which is attached as an integral part of this letter:

• ETI USA Thrie Beam to ETI Roller Barrier Transition

Scope of this Letter 

To be found eligible for Federal-aid funding, new roadside safety devices should meet the crash 

test and evaluation criteria contained in the American Association of State Highway and 

Transportation Officials’(AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). 

However, the FHWA, the Department of Transportation, and the United States Government do 

not regulate the manufacture of roadside safety devices. Eligibility for reimbursement under the 

Federal-aid highway program does not establish approval, certification or endorsement of the 

device for any particular purpose or use. 

This letter is not a determination by the FHWA, the Department of Transportation, or the United 

States Government that a vehicle crash involving the device will result in any particular 

outcome, nor is it a guarantee of the in-service performance of this device. Proper 

manufacturing, installation, and maintenance are required in order for this device to function as 

tested.

This finding of eligibility is limited to the crashworthiness of the system and does not cover other 

structural features, nor conformity with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. 
2

Eligibility for Reimbursement 

Based solely on a review of crash test results and certifications submitted by the manufacturer, 

and the crash test laboratory, FHWA agrees that the device described herein meets the crash test 

and evaluation criteria of the AASHTO’s MASH. Therefore, the device is eligible for 

reimbursement under the Federal-aid highway program if installed under the range of tested 

conditions. 

Name of system: ETI USA Thrie Beam to ETI Roller Barrier Transition

Type of system: Longitudinal Barrier Transition 

Test Level: MASH Test Level 3 (TL3) 

Testing conducted by: Applus IDIADA KARCO Engineering, LLC. 

Date of request: January 15, 2020 

FHWA concurs with the recommendation of the accredited crash testing laboratory on the 

attached form. 

Full Description of the Eligible Device 

The device and supporting documentation, including reports of the crash tests or other testing 

done, videos of any crash testing, and/or drawings of the device, are described in the attached 

form. 

Notice 

This eligibility letter is issued for the subject device as tested. Modifications made to the device 

are not covered by this letter. Any modifications to this device should be submitted to the user 

(i.e., state DOT) as per their requirements. 

You are expected to supply potential users with sufficient information on design, installation and 

maintenance requirements to ensure proper performance. 

You are expected to certify to potential users that the hardware furnished has the same chemistry, 

mechanical properties, and geometry as that submitted for review, and that it will meet the test 

and evaluation criteria of AASHTO’s MASH.

Issuance of this letter does not convey property rights of any sort or any exclusive privilege. This 

letter is based on the premise that information and reports submitted by you are accurate and 

correct. We reserve the right to modify or revoke this letter if: (1) there are any inaccuracies in 

the information submitted in support of your request for this letter, (2) the qualification testing 

was flawed, (3) in-service performance or other information reveals safety problems, (4) the 

system is significantly different from the version that was crash tested, or (5) any other 

information indicates that the letter was issued in error or otherwise does not reflect full and 

complete information about the crashworthiness of the system. 

Version 10.0 (05/16)

Page 1 of 4

Request for Federal Aid Reimbursement Eligibility 

of Highway Safety Hardware

ttermibuS

Date of Request: January15,2020 New Resubmission

Name: StevenMatsusaka

Company: ApplusIDIADAKARCOEngineering,LLC.

Address: 9270HollyRoad,Adelanto,CA92301

Country: UnitedStatesofAmerica

To: Michael S. Griffith, Director

FHWA, Office of Safety Technologies

I request the following devices be considered eligible for reimbursement under the Federal-aid 

highway program.

Device&TestingCriterion -Enter from right to leftstarting with TestLevel ! -! - ! !-!-!

SystemType SubmissionType DeviceName/ Variant TestingCriterion Test 

Level

'B':Rigid/Semi-RigidBarriers PhysicalCrashTesting

Engineering Analysis

ETIUSAThrieBeam to

ETIRollerBarrier

Transition

AASHTOMASH TL3

By submitting this request for review and evaluation by the Federal Highway Administration, I certify 

that the product(s) was (were) tested in conformity with the AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety 

Hardware and that the evaluation results meet the appropriate evaluation criteria in the MASH.

Individual or Organization responsible for the product:

Contact Name: JohnLee SameasSubmitter

CompanyName: ETI USA,Inc. SameasSubmitter

Address: 14OrmondParkRoad,GlenHead,NY11545 SameasSubmitter

Country: UnitedStatesofAmerica SameasSubmitter

Enter below all disclosures of financial interests as required by the FHWA `Federal-Aid Reimbursement

Eligibility Process for Safety Hardware Devices' document.

ETIUSA,Inc.andApplusIDIADAKarcoEngineering,LLC.shareno ($0.00)financial interestsbetween the two

organizations. Thisincludesno ($0.00)financial interest but not limited to:

i.Compensation,including wages,salaries,commissions,professional fees,orfeesfor businessreferrals(dollar 

valuesare notneeded);

ii. Consulting relationships;

iii. Researchfunding or otherformsof researchsupport;

iv. Patents,copyrights,and otherintellectual propertyinterests;

v. Licensesor contractualrelationships;or

vi. Businessownership and investment interest.
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Page 2 of 4

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Help

New Hardware or 

Significant Modification

Modification to 

ExistingHardware

The as-tested system described herein isa transition from a Thrie-beam approach guardrail to the ETI Roller 

Barrier. The transition is designed to provide a means to attach the ETI Roller Barrier to astandard W-beam 

guardrail system.In order to transition fromaW-beamguardrail system to theETIRollerBarrier, theW-beam 

system isfirst transitioned to aThrie-beamapproachguardrail which then transitionsto theETIRollerBarrier. 

Theas-testedsystem consistedofa50.0ft.(15.2m)length of Midwest GuardrailSystem(MGS)with standard 

postspacing(SGR20a),aTrailing-EndAnchorageSystem(SEW31)on theupstream end of theMGS,aMGSWbeam toThrie-beamTransition with StandardPosts(STG03a),12.5ft.(3.8m)ofstiffenedThrie-beamapproach 

guardrail, theThrie-beam toETIRollerBarrierconnector piece,and78.7ft.(24.0m)ofETIRollerBarrier.The total

as-testedsystem length was178.2ft.(54.3m).

TheETIThrie-beam toRollerBarrierTransition wasinstalled between thedownstreamend ofastiffenedThriebeamapproachguardrail and theupstream end ofanETIRollerBarrier.TheETIThrie-beam toRollerBarrier 

Transition consistsof one(1)ETIRollerBarrier line postand one(1)ETIThrie-beam toRollerBarrierConnector. 

TheETIRollerBarrier line post consistsof two (2)parts:one(1)outer post constructed of 7.2ft.(2.2m)long,140 

mm diameter by4.5mm wall thicknessroundsteel postand one(1)inner postconstructed of 2.3ft.(0.7m) 

long,125mm diameter by4.3mm wall thicknessroundsteel post.TheETIline postsareinstalled by inserting 

theinner post into theouter postand driving thepostsinto thesoil together using the top of theinner postas 

thedriving surface.Theline post isspaced15.13in.(385mm)downstream of thelastThrie-beam postand

15.13in.(385mm)upstream of thefirstETIRollerBarrier post.

TheETIThrie-beam toRollerBarrierConnectorconsistsofamodifiedThrie-beamTypeTCendcapconnector 

attached to asteel bracket manufactured byETIUSA.Thesteel brackethasoverall dimensionsof 30.5in.(776 

mm)wide by28.0in.(710mm)tall and hasflangesat the top and bottom which attach thebracket to theETI 

RollerBarrier’supperand lower framerails.ThemodifiedThrie-beamTypeTCendcapconnector isattached to 

the trafficside faceof thesteel bracket on oneendand to theThrie-beam guard rail on theother.

CRASH TESTING

Bysignaturebelow, theEngineeraffiliated with the testing laboratory, agreesin support of thissubmission that 

all of the critical and relevant crash tests for this device listed above were conducted to meet the MASH test 

criteria. The Engineer has determined that no other crash testsare necessary to determine the device meets 

theMASH criteria.

Engineer Name: StevenMatsusaka

EngineerSignature:

Address: 9270HollyRoad,Adelanto,CA92301 SameasSubmitter

Country: UnitedStatesofAmerica SameasSubmitter

A brief description of each crash test and its result: Help

RequiredTest 

Number

Evaluation 

Results

3-10(1100C)

Narrative 

Description

TestforLongitudinalBarrierLON.Test3-10

wasconductedon theETIUSARollerBarrier Non-RelevantTest,not conducted

3-11(2270P)

andcoveredinFHWAEligibilityLetter 

B-291.

TestforLongitudinalBarrierLON.Test3-11

wasconductedon theETIUSARollerBarrier

andcoveredinFHWAEligibilityLetter 

B-291.

Non-RelevantTest,not conducted

StevenMatsusaka DigitallysignedbyStevenMatsusaka

DN:cn=StevenMatsusaka,email=steven.matsusaka@idiada.com,c=US 

Date:2020.01.1616:53:19-08'00'
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Page 3 of 4

RequiredTest 

Number

Narrative 

Description

Evaluation 

Results

3-20(1100C)

Test20fora transitionsectionisan optional

test to evaluate the occupant risk and postimpact trajectory criteria. Test 3-20 was not

conducted.

Non-RelevantTest,not conducted

3-21(2270P)

ApplusIDIADAKARCOTestNo.P39240-01.

A2270Ptest vehicleimpacting thebarrierat 

a nominal impact speed and angle of 62 

mph and 25°, respectively, with the corner 

point of the bumper aligned with the 

Critical Impact Point (CIP). This test is 

primarily intended to evaluate the 

performance of a transition between two 

longitudinal barriers with different lateral 

stiffnesses.

A 2014 RAM 1500 4-door pickup truck with

a test inertial mass of 5033.1 lbs (2283.0 kg)

impacted the terminal at a velocity of 65.78

mph(105.86km/h)andandangle of 25.0°,

6.7ft.(2.0m)upstream from thefirstETI 

RollerBarrier post.

The system contained and redirected the 

vehicle within the exit box and with a 

Working Width of 39.3 in. (998 mm). The 

occupant compartment wasnot penetrated 

and deformation limitswere not exceeded. 

The Occupant Impact Velocities (OIV) were 

25.3 ft/s (7.7 m/s) and 18.4 ft/s (5.6 m/s) in 

the x- and y-directions, respectively. The 

RidedownAccelerations were-11.9gand

-8.4g,respectively.TheETIUSAThrieBeam 

to Roller Barrier Transition met all of the 

requirements for MASHTest3-21.

PASS

Full Scale Crash Testing was done in compliance with MASH by the following accredited crash test 

laboratory (cite the laboratory’s accreditation status as noted in the crash test reports.):

Laboratory Name: ApplusIDIADAKARCOEngineering,LLC.

LaboratorySignature: StevenMatsusaka DN:cn=StevenMatsusaka,email=steven.matsusaka@idiada.com,c=US

DigitallysignedbyStevenMatsusaka

Date:2020.01.1616:53:27-08'00'

Address: 9270HollyRoad,Adelanto,CA92301 SameasSubmitter

Country: UnitedStatesofAmerica SameasSubmitter

Accreditation Certificate

Number and Dates of current 

Accreditation period :

TL-371:July2019-July2022
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Page 4 of 4

ATTACHMENTS

Attach to this form:

1) Additional disclosures of related financial interest as indicated above.

2) A copy of the full test report, video, and a Test Data Summary Sheet for each test conducted in 

support of this request.

3) A drawing or drawings of the device(s) that conform to the Task Force-13 Drawing Specifications 

[Hardware Guide Drawing Standards]. For proprietary products, a single isometric line drawing is 

usually acceptable to illustrate the product, with detailed specifications, intended use, and contact 

information provided on the reverse. Additional drawings (not in TF-13 format) showing details that 

are relevant to understanding the dimensions and performance of the device should also be submitted 

to facilitate our review.

FHWA Official Business Only:

Eligibility Letter

Number Date Key Words