Per MASH Implementation, Agencies are urged to establish a process to replace existing highway safety hardware that has not been successfully tested to NCHRP Report 350 or later criteria. Agencies are encouraged to upgrade existing highway safety hardware to comply with the 2016 edition of MASH either when it becomes damaged beyond repair, or when an individual agency’s policies require an upgrade to the safety hardware.
For contracts on the National Highway System with a letting date after the dates below, only safety hardware evaluated using the 2016 edition of MASH criteria will be allowed for new permanent installations and full replacements:
- December 31, 2017: w-beam barriers and cast-in-place concrete barriers
- June 30, 2018: w-beam tangent terminals
- December 31, 2018: crash cushions
- December 31, 2019: bridge rails, transitions, all other longitudinal barriers (including portable barriers installed permanently), all other terminals, such as double-sided or median terminals, flared terminals, and terminals installed on a flare, cable barriers and cable Barrier Terminals, sign supports, and all other breakaway hardware
Temporary work zone devices, including portable barriers, manufactured after December 31, 2019, must have been successfully tested to the 2016 edition of MASH. Such devices manufactured on or before this date, and successfully tested to NCHRP Report 350 or the 2009 edition of MASH, may continue to be used throughout their normal service lives. write my essay
