DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Federal Highway Administration (“FHWA”) and the American Association
of State Highway and Transportation Officials (“AASHTO”) have announced
the results from a second joint task force formed to determine whether
there is any evidence of performance limitations unique to the ET Plus®
System, an extruding w-beam guardrail terminal system manufactured by
Trinity Highway Products, a subsidiary of Trinity Industries, Inc.
(NYSE: TRN), and the degree to which any such performance limitations
extend to other brands of extruding w-beam guardrail terminals (see link
to the report provided at the end of this release).
The joint task force consisted of six representatives from the FHWA,
three representatives from AASHTO, nine representatives of state
Departments of Transportation, and independent experts. The findings,
conclusions and recommendations, as presented in the joint task force
conference call and report, include the following:
-
There are no performance limitations unique to the ET Plus® System
-
There will be real-world conditions that exceed the performance
expectations of all manufacturers’ w-beam guardrail end
terminal systems. These conditions include, but are not limited to,
installation, maintenance or repair issues; terrain features; and
guardrail placement, in addition to physical laws; vehicle stability;
vehicle crashworthiness; site conditions; and impacts outside of the
criteria established by the National Cooperative Highway Research
Program Report 350 (“NCHRP Report 350”)
-
Additional crash testing of all existing NCHRP Report 350-compliant
extruding w-beam guardrail terminals, including the ET Plus® System,
“would not be informative” and “would be irrelevant”
-
A transition to AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (“MASH”)
criteria for all new installations of guardrail terminals is
recommended
These findings follow the results from the first AASHTO-FHWA joint task
force released in March 2015, which concluded there was no evidence of
multiple versions of the ET Plus® System on roadways and that the
terminals successfully crash-tested at the Southwest Research Institute
in December 2014 and January 2015 were representative of the devices
installed across the country.
Trinity’s ET Plus® System has been thoroughly reviewed by federal and
state highway officials and multiple independent experts. Since its
introduction, the ET Plus® System has been accepted by the FHWA for use
on the nation’s roadways and has an unbroken chain of eligibility for
Federal-aid reimbursement.
Trinity supports the second joint task force’s recommendation to
transition to the MASH criteria for all new installations of guardrail
terminals. MASH is the current crash testing standard for all new
roadside hardware introduced to the market since 2011. Trinity currently
sells a w-beam guardrail end terminal product that has been successfully
tested under MASH criteria and been determined to be accepted for use on
the nation’s roadways and eligible for Federal-aid reimbursement.
Trinity Highway Products is committed to the safety of American
roadways. We are the leading manufacturer of guardrail, end terminals
and crash cushions in the United States. We have been manufacturing
roadside hardware for more than 40 years and lead the industry in
providing the most innovative technology.
Virginia’s Decision to Conduct Its Own Crash
Testing
As previously announced, the Virginia Department of Transportation
(“VDOT”) intends to conduct its own crash testing of the ET Plus®
System, including certain non-standard tests. The joint task force
considered additional crash testing of all existing NCHRP Report
350-compliant extruding w-beam guardrail terminals, but concluded that
such testing would not be informative. We agree with the joint task
force that no further crash testing is warranted.
Earlier this year, the ET Plus® System successfully passed all eight
crash tests that were requested by the FHWA, which included two tests
requested by VDOT. FHWA and VDOT officials observed each test. All eight
standard tests were successfully conducted under NCHRP Report 350
guidelines and the data and outcome of each test was reviewed and
validated by an independent expert and professor at Virginia Tech.
Trinity Highway Products’ commitment to safety extends to the
Commonwealth of Virginia where the Company is a major supplier of
roadside safety products. Trinity takes pride in the role our products
have played in helping reduce reported fatalities on Virginia roadways
by 92% during the last ten years. Those reductions have happened, in
part, because of one simple fact: The ET Plus® System works. The ET
Plus® System has been installed on Virginia roadways for more than eight
years and the VDOT recently confirmed to the FHWA as part of the data it
submitted to the second joint task force for review, that the end
terminals on Virginia’s roadways are performing as expected.
Additional Information
The Report from the Joint AASHTO-FHWA Task Force on Guardrail Terminal
Crash Analysis may be found at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/guardrailsafety/isptf.cfm
Information from the FHWA pertaining to the ET Plus® System
may be found at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/guardrailsafety/
General information pertaining to purpose, function, and crashworthiness
of guardrails, the FHWA document entitled “Guardrail 101,” may be found
at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/guardrailsafety/guardrail101.pdf
Information on the ET Plus® System by the product’s designer, Texas A&M
Transportation Institute, may be found at: http://tti.tamu.edu/etguardrailresources/
For additional facts and product information related to the ET Plus®
System, you can refer to www.etplusfacts.com
Trinity Industries, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a
diversified industrial company that owns market-leading businesses,
which provide products and services to the energy, transportation,
chemical, and construction sectors. Trinity reports its financial
results in five principal business segments: the Rail Group, the Railcar
Leasing and Management Services Group, the Inland Barge Group, the
Construction Products Group, and the Energy Equipment Group. For more
information, visit: www.trin.net.
Some statements in this release, which are not historical facts, are
“forward-looking statements” as defined by the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include
statements about Trinity's estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions
or strategies for the future, and the assumptions underlying these
forward-looking statements. Trinity uses the words “anticipates,”
“believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “forecasts,” “may,”
“will,” “should,” “guidance” and similar expressions to identify these
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
historical experience or our present expectations. For a discussion of
such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ
from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see “Risk
Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the Company's Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year.
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Trinity Industries, Inc.
Investor Contact:
Jessica L.
Greiner, 214-631-4420
Director of Investor Relations
or
Media
Contact:
Jack Todd, 214/589-8909 or 214/589-2567
Vice
President of Public Affairs
Source: Trinity Industries, Inc.