February 15, 2019 

 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE

  Washington, D.C. 20590

In Reply Refer To: 

HSST-1 /B-317 

Mr. Rajesh Taneja 

New York State Thruway Authority 

P. 0. Box 189 

Albany, NY, 12201-0189 

Dear Mr. Taneja: 

This letter is in response to your October 31 , 2018 request for the Federal Highway 

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

for reimbursement under the Federal-aid highway program. This FHW A letter of eligibility is 

assigned FHWA control number B-317 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: 

• Three-Rail Steel Bridge Rail with Curb 

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 FHW A, 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 oftested 

conditions. 

Name of system: Three-Rail Steel Bridge Rail with Curb 

Type of system: Longitudinal Barrier 

Test Level: MASH Test Level 5 (TL5) 

Testing conducted by: TamTI 

Date ofrequest: January 30, 2019 

FHWA concurs with the recommendation of the accredited crash testing laboratory as stated 

within 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 pr~blems, (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. 

Standard Provisions 
3 

• To prevent misunderstanding by others, this letter of eligibility designated as FHWA 

control number B-317 shall not be reproduced except in full. This letter and the test 

documentation upon which it is based are public information. All such letters and 

documentation may be reviewed upon request. 

• This letter shall not be construed as authorization or consent by the FHW A to use, 

manufacture, or sell any patented system for which the applicant is not the patent holder. 

• This FHW A eligibility letter is not an expression of any Agency view, position, or 

determination of validity, scope, or ownership of any intellectual property rights to a 

specific device or design. Further, this letter does not impute any distribution or licensing 

rights to the requester. This FHW A eligibility letter determination is made based solely 

on the crash-testing information submitted by the requester. The FHW A reserves the 

right to review and revoke an earlier eligibility determination after receipt of subsequent 

information related to crash testing. 

• Ifthe subject device is a patented product it may be considered to be proprietary. If 

proprietary systems are specified by a highway agency for use on Federal-aid projects: 

(a) they 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. 

Sincerely, 

Michael S. Griffith 

Director, Office of Safety Technologies 

Office of Safety 

Enclosures 
..c 

Version 10.0 (05/16) 

Page 1 of 4 

Request for Federal Aid Reimbursement Eligibility 

of Highway Safety Hardware 

Date of Request: 10-31-2018 (i New r Resubmission I 

Name: Christopher Gaunt, P.E. 

... 

QI Company: HNTB Corporation ....

-~ E Address: Empire State Building, 350 Fifth Avenue, 57th Floor, New York, NY, 10118

::, Country: United States of America 

Michael S. Griffith, Director 

Vl 

To: FHWA, Office of Safety Technologies 

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

highway program. 

Device & Testing Criterion - Enter from right to left starting with Test Level Fl 

System Type Submission Type Device Name/ Variant Testing Criterion Test 

Level 

'B': Rigid/Semi-Rigid Barriers 

(Roadside, Median, Bridge 

Railinasl 

(i Physical Crash Testing 

(' Engineering Analysis 

Three-Rail Steel Bridge 

Rail with Curb 

AASHTO MASH TLS 

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: Rajesh Taneja Same as Submitter D 

Company Name: New York State Thruway Authority Same as Submitter D 

Address: P. 0 . Box 189, Albany, NY, 12201 -0189 Same as Submitter D 

Country: United States of America Same as Submitter D 

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

Eligibility Process for Safety Hardware Devices' document. 

HNTB: HNTB Corporation is a paid consultant for New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) for the Governor 

Mario M. Cuomo (formerly Tappan Zee) Bridge Rail design and eligibility request. HNTB has no further financial 

interest in the use of this barrier system. 

TTI: Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) was contracted by HNTB to perform full-scale crash testing of the 

NYSTA Governor Mario M. Cuomo (formerly Tappan Zee) Bridge Rail design. There are no shared financial 

interests in the NYSTA Governor Mario M. Cuomo (formerly Tappan Zee) Bridge Rail design by TTI, or between 

HNTB and TTI, other than costs involved in the actual crash tests and reports for this submission to FHWA. 
Version 10.0 (05/16) 

Page 2 of 4 

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 

(e New Hardware or (' Modification to 

• Significant Modification Existing Hardware 

The bridge rail design tested was a three-rail steel bridge rail with a reinforced concrete curb that was 

constructed on a reinforced concrete grade beam and deck. The curb had a 7-inch tall face. Fabricated steel 

posts were mounted on the curb, spaced at 48 inches on center. There were three rows of 6-inch square HSS 

tubing rails bolted to the posts, with the top surface of the top rail at 38 inches above the curb, for a total rail 

height of 45 inches above grade. The top of the middle rail was 33 inches above grade, and the top of the 

bottom rail was 21 inches above grade. 

CRASH TESTING 

By signature below, the Engineer affiliated with the testing laboratory, agrees in support of this submission 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 tests are necessary to determine the device meets 

the MASH criteria. 

Engineer Name: Nauman M. Sheikh 

Nauman M. Sheikh Digitally signed by Nauman M. Sheikh Engineer Signature: Date: 2018.10.12 17:32:31 -05'00' 

Address: TTI, TAMUS MS 3135, College Station, TX 77843-3135 Same as Submitter D 

Country: USA Same as Submitter D 

A brief descri ption of each crash test and its result : 

Required Test 

Number 

Narrative 

Description 

Evaluation 

Results 

5-10 (11 00C) 

A 2011 Kia Rio traveling at an impact speed 

of 61 .1 mi/h contacted the bridge rail 3.6 ft 

upstream of the joint between posts 30 and 

31 at an impact angle of 25.2°. The bridge 

rail contained and redirected the 11 00C 

vehicle. The vehicle did not penetrate, 

underride, or override the installation. 

There was 0.7 inch of dynamic deflection of 

the bridge rail during the test. No detached 

elements, fragments, or other debris were 

present to penetrate or show potential for 

penetrating the occupant compartment, or 

to present hazard to others in the area. 

Maximum occupant compartment 

deformation was 2.0 inches on the left side 

at the wheel/foot well area. The 11 00C 

vehicle remained upright during and after 

the collision event. A gyroscope/ 

accelerometer connection was severed 

during the test, However, based on video 

analysis, the vehicle did not exceed 75 

degrees of roll or pitch. Longitudinal OIV 

was 18.7 ft/ s, and lateral OIV was 30.5 ft/s. 

Longitudinal occupant ridedown 

acceleration was 2.7 g, and lateral occupant 

ridedown acceleration was 9.8 g. 

PASS 
Version 10.0 (05/16) 

Page 3 of 4 

Required Test 

Number 

Narrative 

Description 

Evaluation 

Results 

5-11 (2270P) 

A 2013 RAM 1500 traveling at an impact 

speed of 62.8 mi/h contacted the bridge rail 

4.1 ft upstream of the joint between posts 

20 and 21 at an impact angle of 25.7. The 

bridge rail contained and redirected the 

2270P vehicle. The vehicle did not 

penetrate, underride, or override the 

installation. There was 1.0 inch of dynamic 

deflection of the bridge rail during the test. 

No detached elements, fragments, or other 

debris were present to penetrate or show 

potential for penetrating the occupant 

compartment, or to present hazard to 

others in the area. Maximum occupant 

compartment deformation was 3.0 inches 

on the left side at the floor pan to roof, and 

wheel/foot well and toe pan area. The 

2270P vehicle remained upright during and 

after the collision event. Maximum roll and 

pitch angles were 13° and 5°, respectively. 

Longitudinal OIV was 20.3 ft/s, and lateral 

OIV was 28.5 ft/s. Longitudinal occupant 

ridedown acceleration was 7.8 g, and lateral 

occupant ridedown acceleration was 8.5 g. 

PASS 

5-12 (36000V) 

A 2006 Freightliner with a 2002 Utility trailer 

was travel ing at an impact speed of 50.9 mi/ 

h when it contacted the bridge rail 1.4 ft 

downstream of the splice between posts 10 

and 11 at an impact angle of 15.2°. The 

bridge rail contained and redirected the 

36000V vehicle. The vehicle did not 

penetrate, underride, or override the 

installation. There was 1.5 inches of 

dynamic deflection of the bridge rail during 

the test. No detached elements, fragments, 

or other debris were present to penetrate or 

show potential for penetrating the 

occupant compartment, or to present 

hazard to others in the area. Maximum 

occupant compartment deformation was 

2.0 inches on the left side firewall/floor pan 

area. The 36000V vehicle remained upright 

during and after the collision. 

PASS 

5-20 (1100() 

Hardware is not a transition. This test is 

therefore not applicable and was not 

performed. 

Non-Relevant Test, not conducted 

5-21 (2270P) 

Hardware is not a transition. This test is 

therefore not applicable and was not 

performed. 

Non-Relevant Test, not conducted 

5-22 (36000V) 

Hardware is not a transition. This test is 

therefore not applicable and was not 

performed. 

Non-Relevant Test, not conducted 
Version 10.0 (05/16) 

Page 4 of 4 

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: Texas A&M Transportation Institute 

Laboratory Signature: Digitally signed by Darrell L. Kuhn Darrell L. Kuhn Date: 2018.10.15 10:48:18 -05'00' 

Address: TTI, TAM US MS 3135, College Station, TX 77843-3135 Same as Submitter D 

Country: USA Same as Submitter D 

Accreditation Certificate 

Number and Dates of current 

Accreditation period : 

ISO 17025 Laboratory 

Certificate Number: 2821.01 

Valid To: April 30, 2019 

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 

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