FHWA Policy

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in its November 20, 2009, implementation plan for MASH, requires that bridge railing on the National Highway System (NHS) meet requirements of MASH or NCHRP Report 350:
  • “Highway safety hardware installed on new construction and reconstruction projects shall be those accepted under NCHRP Report 350 or MASH.”
and
  • “Agencies are encouraged to upgrade existing highway safety hardware that has not been accepted under NCHRP Report 350 or MASH:
    • during reconstruction projects,
    • during 3R projects, or
    • when the system is damaged beyond repair.”
In the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) January 7, 2016, MASH implementation memo, agencies are again encouraged to upgrade existing highway safety hardware, with the additional requirement that only MASH-approved devices are allowed for bridge railing installations with contracts letting after December 31, 2019.