MASH Evaluation of TxDOT Roadside Safety Features\u2014Phase III

US Transportation Collection2020PDFTech ReportBligh, Roger P.Menges, Wanda L.Griffith, Bill L.Schroeder, Glenn E.Kuhn, Darrell L.Texas A&M Transportation InstituteTexas. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Technology Implementation OfficeUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway AdministrationTexas A&M Transportation InstituteTexasUnited StatesBarricadesBarriers (Roads)Bridge railingsCrash testsEvaluation and assessmentHighway safetyPostsRoadside structuresTraffic signsGuardrailsGuardrail transition sectionsBridge RailLow-Profile BarrierF-ShapeBarrierSign SupportMailboxSkid-MountedMow StripRound PostsWood PostsSteel PostsType III BarricadeMASHFHWA/TX-20/0-6946-R3Project 0-6946In 2009, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) published the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), which supersedes the previous crash test and evaluation guidelines. A MASH implementation agreement was jointly developed and adopted by the Federal Highway Administration and AASHTO. It establishes implementation dates for different categories of roadside safety features. Texas Department of Transportation Bridge, Design, Maintenance, and Traffic Operations Divisions reviewed their standards for roadside safety devices and identified those devices that require testing and evaluation to assess MASH compliance. Under this project, roadside safety systems used in Texas will be crash-tested in accordance with MASH criteria in three phases over a 3-year period. A total of 10 devices were tested and evaluated during Phase I. In Phase II, an additional 14 devices were tested and evaluated. In Phase III, which is the subject of this report, an additional 14 devices were tested and evaluated. This report documents the crash testing and evaluation of these devices in accordance with MASH criteria. The critical configurations were identified and critical tests performed to assess MASH compliance.120