Mr. Scott Behm 

 National Sales Manager 

 Three D Traffic Works 

 430 North Varney Street 

 Burbank, California 91502 

Dear Mr. Behm: 

Thank you for your letter of June 3, 2005, requesting the Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) acceptance of modifications to your company’s TD2400 All Plastic Type III Works 

Barricades as crashworthy traffic control devices for use in work zones on the National 

Highway System (NHS). You requested that we find these devices acceptable for use on the 

NHS under the provisions of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) 

Report 350 “Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway 

Features” based on crash testing of similar hardware made by your company and/or by others. 

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 are those lightweight devices which are to be self-certified by the vendor, Category II 

devices are other lightweight devices which need individual crash testing but with reduced 

instrumentation, Category III devices are barriers and other fixed or heavy devices also 

needing crash testing with normal instrumentation, and Category IV devices are trailer 

mounted lighted signs, arrow panels, etc. for which crash testing requirements have not yet 

been established. 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 TD2400 All Plastic Type III Works Barricades was originally accepted in WZ-132 and 

was described as: 

The Three D Traffic Works TD2400 Series Type III Barricade is an FHWA Category II work 

zone traffic control device. It is an all plastic, lightweight, portable barricade made from a 

specially formulated polypropylene plastic with UV stabilizers and cold weather package. 

400 Seventh St., S.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20590

In Reply Refer To: HSA-10/WZ-217 

September 7, 2005 
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Panels for crashworthy barricades are available in 1219, 1524, 1829, and 2438 mm (4, 5, 6, and 

8 foot) lengths. A 2438 mm (8 foot) wide barricade panel was selected for testing. The 

barricade plastic upright support legs are referred to as Tuff-1TM uprights and are specially 

designed with an extrusion pattern which yields additional strength. These plastic uprights 

area nominal 1600 mm (5 feet, 4 inches) in length and 44.5 mm (1.75 inches) square. The 

uprights are supported by injection molded "EZ Foot" bases with nominal 1524 mm (5 feet) 

length and 305 mm (1 foot) nominal height and width. 

Requested Modifications 

You requested the following modifications to the crash-tested barricade design: 

1. Allow the use of the Universal URB1827TM Rubber Foot as a skid to hold the plastic 

uprights in lieu of the plastic skids. 

2. Allow the use of 14 gauge PSST or Quik-Punch tubes as skids. 

3. Allow the use of 10 gauge angle steel as skids. 

As these materials have been used successfully in crash tests of other barricade designs, and 

because some are incorporated into the “generic Type III barricade” detailed in the FHWA 

acceptance letter WZ-85 dated November 15, 2001, we find them acceptable for use on the 

NHS under the range of conditions originally tested, when proposed by a State. 

You had also asked for acceptance of a 12 foot wide barricade. This request is denied, as the 

materials used in the crash-tested barricades are proprietary to the companies who sponsored 

the crash testing. 

Please note the following standard provisions that apply to the 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 the FHWA and 

the NCHRP Report 350. 

• To prevent misunderstanding by others, this letter of acceptance, designated as number 

WZ-217 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. 
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• The TD2400 All Plastic Type III Works Barricades is a patented device and is 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 by a highway 

agency for use on Federal-aid 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. These 

provisions do not apply to exempt non-NHS projects. Our regulations concerning 

proprietary products are contained in Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 

635.411, a copy of which is enclosed. 

• This acceptance letter shall not be construed as authorization or consent by the FHWA to 

use, manufacture, or sell any patented device for which the applicant is not the patent 

holder. The acceptance letter is limited to the crashworthiness characteristics of the 

candidate device, and the FHWA is neither prepared nor required to become involved in 

issues concerning patent law. Patent issues, if any, are to be resolved by the applicant. 

Sincerely yours, 

 

 /original signed by George E. Rice, Jr./ 

 ~for~ 

John R. Baxter, P.E. 

 Director, Office of Safety Design 

 Office of Safety 

Enclosure 

FHWA:HSA-10:NArtimovich:tb:x61331:9/1/05 

File: h://directory folder/artimovich/WZ217-ThreeDTrafficFin 

cc: HSA-10 (Reader, HSA-1; Chron File, HSA-10; 

 N.Artimovich, HSA-10)