Subject: INFORMATION: Florida DOT Portable Concrete Curb 

 

 (original signed by A. George Ostensen) 

From: A. George Ostensen

 Associate Administrator for Safety 

 

To: Mr. James St. John 

Division Administrator (HDA-FL) 

Tallahassee, Florida 

In your March 13 memorandum, you requested FHWA Headquarters review and 

acceptance of a portable concrete curb (also referred to as a temporary low profile 

barrier) developed by and tested for FDOT. Included with your request was a copy of the 

University of Florida Structures Research Report No. 827-3, dated January 2003 and 

entitled “Temporary Low Profile Barrier for Roadside Safety: Phase II.” You 

subsequently requested that formal action be delayed pending clarification on the 

University of Florida’s patent and licensing rights for this design, and development of an 

isometric drawing for inclusion on our safety hardware website. Notification that the 

University of Florida has retained title to this device was provided April 28. A drawing 

for inclusion on the safety hardware website, with appropriate University of Florida 

contact information included, was sent via e-mail to Mr. Richard Powers of my staff on 

August 5 and is attached to this memorandum. 

The FDOT Portable Concrete Curb consists of reinforced concrete segments 3658-mm 

(12-feet) long, 457-mm (18-inches) high, and 686-mm (27-inches) wide at the base. The 

traffic face is slightly battered with the toe of the curb 25 mm (1 inch) further from traffic 

than the top edge of the curb. One end of each segment is vertical while the other end is 

beveled to allow placement along a roadway radius as small as 20 meters. To resist 

shear, the beveled end of each segment contains a removable 44-mm diameter high 

strength steel stud that fits into a vertical steel channel cast into the vertical end of the 

adjacent segment. On the backside, 32-mm diameter high strength threaded rods are 

bolted through gusseted steel angle irons cast into the curb to provide tensile strength at 

the connections. 

 

 

Memorandum

Date: August 12, 2003 

In Reply Refer To: HSA-10/B-115 
2

The FDOT Portable Curb was tested at E-TECH Testing Services, Incorporated and the 

results summarized in that agency’s September 2002 report entitled “NCHRP Report 350 

Crash Test Results for the University of Florida Improved Portable Concrete Curb.” This 

report was incorporated into the above-referenced University of Florida report. The 

NCHRP Report 350 tests 2-10 and 2-11 were successfully completed. In both tests, the 

impacting vehicles struck a freestanding and unanchored 55-m long installation (15 

segments) near its midpoint and were effectively contained and redirected. All occupant 

impact and ride down acceleration values were significantly below Report 350 upper 

limits and in most cases, below preferred values as well. Maximum deflections were 

reported to be 80 mm (3 inches) with the 820-kg car and 230 mm (9 inches) with the 

2000-kg pickup truck. 

Based on test results, the FDOT Portable Temporary Low Profile Barrier may be 

classified as an NCHRP Report 350 barrier at TL-2 and may be used on the NHS at 

locations where impact speeds of 70 km/h or less can be expected. As noted in your 

memorandum, the blunt end of this design is not crashworthy. Therefore, the Portable 

Curb should be introduced beyond the appropriate clear zone or appropriately shielded. 

Since the University of Florida has a patent pending on this device, prospective users can 

obtain licensing and related information by contacting the University of Florida’s Office 

of Technology Licensing at the address or telephone/fax numbers shown on the attached 

drawing. 

Attachment 

FHWA:HSA-10:RPowers:tb:x61320:8/11/03 

File: h://directory folder/rpowers/B115(FDOTcurb) FDOT edits 

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

 R.Powers, HSA-10)