Update: The FHWA has sent a letter to Trinity Industries demanding that it submit the ET-Plus guardrail terminals it has sold to highway departments nationwide since at least 1999 to further safety testing, a major reversal from the federal agencies’ until-now steadfast support for Trinity. If the company, which lost a federal trial on Monday, refuses to test the guardrail components anew, FHWA officials say they might suspend the company’s ability to sell its product to state highway departments.
WASHINGTON — The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials said today it wants the federal government to conduct new tests of the guardrail caps made by Dallas-based Trinity Industries.
Worries about the safety of the energy-absorbing caps — sold by Trinity across the country to state highway departments for use on highway and interstate guardrails nationwide — have come under fire in the past year as a whistle-blower case accusing the company of defrauding the federal government moved forward in a federal court in Marhsall.
A jury assessed $175 million in damages against the company Monday, an amount that under federal statute will triple — and with as much as $200 million or more in additional fines.
Meanwhile, the Federal Highway Administration has said it will review the safety record of Trinity’s products. A few minutes ago, AASHTO announced it would strongly support that happen. Here’s the organization’s statement:
WASHINGTON – The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials today supported Federal Highway Administration’s request that Texas-based guardrail manufacturer Trinity Industries Inc., maker of the ET-Plus guardrail end treatment, re-test the device to ensure that it meets eligibility requirements for use on federal-aid projects.
“Safety of the traveling public is of paramount concern to state departments of transportation and AASHTO. We support FHWA’s actions to have the manufacturer re-verify, through appropriate crash-testing procedures, whether the ET-Plus guardrail end treatment meets the requirements to remain eligible for use on federal-aid projects,” said Bud Wright, AASHTO executive director. “Additionally, in support of continuously improving safety by our member departments on their roadways, we look forward to the results of an FHWA review of the performance of the ET-Plus guardrail end treatment.”