Off the Wall Products, Salt Lake City, Utah, announced Federal Highway Administration acceptance of its Multi-Barrier Model MB-48 x 40 water-filled longitudinal channelizers as crashworthy traffic control devices for use on the National Highway System (NHS).
The FHWA found 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."
Individual units were initially crash tested as Type II barricades and found acceptable in FHWA Acceptance Letter WZ-8 dated Feb. 5, 1999. This new FHWA acceptance, WZ-135, qualifies the same units linked longitudinally and filled with water, deployed as longitudinal channelizers.
In August 2001, the FHWA created a test matrix in compliance with the NCHRP-350 report for crash testing longitudinal channelizers. This test matrix identifies water-filled longitudinal channelizers as accepted products for use on the NHS. The guidance for longitudinal channelizers was created and is expected to improve work-zone safety on the NHS for workers and pedestrians, and further is expected to improve safety particularly in low-speed urban construction work zones.
