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Two States Suspend New Guardrail Use, Cite Safety Concerns
Cindy Galli, ABC News
Transportation officials in two states said they are halting the use of a widely-installed guardrail end terminal that was the subject of an ABC News investigation while they further investigate potential safety hazards.
“Our internal observations, as well as our review of available information, indicates to us the ET-Plus guardrail end treatment is not performing as intended and could pose the risk of malfunctioning,” the Missouri Department of Transportation said today, referring to a newer version guardrail end piece. “Therefore, we are taking proactive steps to correct the situation. We are immediately stopping the further use of this product on Missouri’s highway system by taking it off of our approved products list, removing it from projects currently under construction and prohibiting its use on any future projects.”
Likewise, Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials told ABC News in an email Wednesday, “In light of a recent report raising questions about the performance of a specific guardrail end terminal, MassDOT has taken initial steps to halt the use of that end terminal while the agency conducts additional research.”
The Massachusetts state agency said that “if necessary, [it] will evaluate possible measures to repair or replace these end terminals already in use.”