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                Safety Eligibility Letter B-128
  
  **Hardware Type:**
            Longitudinal Barriers and Bridge Rails
                          **Code:**
            B-128
                          **Date:**
            08/24/2004
                          **Testing Criteria:**
            NCHRP 350
                          **Manufacturer:**
            CalTrans
                          **Device Description:**
            ST20S steel post & beam bridge rail @ TL-4
                          **View PDF:**
            b128.pdf (872.54 KB)
    
    Skip to contentSkip to contentUnited States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway AdministrationAugust 24, 2004
Refer to: HSA-10/B-128

Mr. Byron Berger
Acting Chief
Roadside Safety Technology Branch
Materials Engineering and Testing Services
5900 Folsom Boulevard
Sacramento, California 95819-4612

Dear Mr. Berger:

In Mr. Sudhakar Vatti's July 12 letter, he requested formal acceptance by the Federal Highway Administration of a see-through, combination steel post and beam bridge rail called the California ST-20S. This design, shown in Enclosure 1, was based on a previously accepted Wyoming DOT design for a test level 4 (TL-4) bridge rail and a modified version of your crash-tested ST-20 design. In your test, there was some hood snagging observed with the pickup truck, so you increased the rail face to post face distance in the ST-20S to reduce the likelihood of this occurrence. The final ST-20S design consists of four horizontal box-beam rail elements, the top and bottom ones being TS 203 x 76 x 7.9 structural tubes, and the middle two being TS 203 x 102 x 7.9 tubes. The summary results of the test you ran are shown in Enclosure 2.

Since your design uses thicker steel plate posts, has a greater rail offset then the Wyoming TL-4 rail, and has a lesser opening between the lower rail elements, you did not believe it necessary to conduct the small car test. Similarly, because the ST-20S is 1185-mm high (excluding the additional 187-mm tall top bicycle rail) versus the 830-mm high Wyoming design, you did not conduct the single-unit truck test. I concur that both of these tests can be waived based on the performance of the Wyoming design and on the differences between the two designs.

Therefore, the ST-20S design may be considered an NCHRP Report 350 bridge rail at TL-4 and used on the National Highway System when selected by the appropriate transportation authority. I assume that anyone needing detailed drawings and material specifications can obtain this information directly from your office.
 

Sincerely yours,
(Original Signed By R. Powers)for:John R. Baxter, P.E.Director, Office of Safety Design 
Office of Safety
2 Enclosures U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

**Federal Highway Administration**

1200 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, SE

WASHINGTON, DC 20590

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