It is a long-standing policy of the Federal Highway Administration that National Highway System roadside safety hardware -- such as longitudinal barriers, sign supports, guardrail terminals, and work zone devices -- demonstrate crashworthiness. Currently, state and local transportation agencies assess performance according to the crash test and evaluation methods prescribed in the AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). Over the last 40 years, in each re-writing of crash test and evaluation procedures, a recurring theme has been the recommendation to conduct in-service performance evaluations (ISPEs) of roadside safety hardware. Research documented in the National Cooperative Highway Research Project (NCHRP) Report 230, NCHRP Report 350, and NCHRP Report 490 recounts the benefits of a continuous monitoring of roadside safety hardware. Most recently, the ongoing NCHRP 22-33 project, Multi-State In-Service Performance Evaluations of Roadside Safety Hardware, has developed and is currently piloting an evaluation method designed for use by all states in a compatible and consistent manner. This pooled fund study will give states the opportunity to collaborate by sharing data and experiences in assessing the performance of in-service roadside safety hardware.

The primary objective of this pooled fund study is to evaluate the performance of roadside safety hardware in the field through inter-state collaboration by using standardized data collection and data analysis with a uniform interpretation of results. The second objective is to provide a forum for states to share ISPE data, experiences, practices, information, and resources.

Participating states will collaboratively select the features to be evaluated. The states who chose to participate in a given safety hardware evaluation will implement the NCHRP 22-33 recommended methods and will collect, and provide data to the pooled-fund contractor. The contractor will guide the states through the ISPE process and will consolidate state ISPE data for analysis, interpretation, and presentation. The contractor will share findings and recommendations from all ISPEs with all participating states. The participating states will develop a specific scope of work for contractor services. It is anticipated that the contractor will be responsible for: 1. Establishing working groups with representatives of the participating states, based on their interest in specific safety features selected for ISPE 2. Organizing and arranging for annual workshops 3. Guiding states on the implementation of ISPE methods based on the recommendations of NCHRP 22-33 4. Providing states with technical support during their data collection efforts 5. Analyzing data that is collected by the states 6. Documenting findings and recommendations in one or more reports It is anticipated that the participating states will be responsible for: 1. Identifying a representative who will actively participate in the pooled fund 2. Attending annual workshops (virtual or in person) 3. Working cooperatively with other state representatives and the contractor to identify the roadside safety hardware to be evaluated that year, with the understanding that: a) Each state does not necessarily install the same hardware b) Each state may have different priorities regarding which hardware to evaluate c) States may already be collecting in-service data and the pooled fund will strive to minimize additional data collection d) Collecting data according to the methods recommended by NCHRP 22-33 and presented at the annual workshops e) Submitting data to the contractor according to agreed-upon schedules and format

The total commitment from each participating state is $90,000 starting FFY22 through FFY24 or an annual commitment of $30,000. The lead agency will apply for a 100% SPR Part B waiver. Commitment will cover travel for an in-person meeting, when deemed appropriate, approximately once per year throughout the life of the project. The workshop will be offered using a virtual platform as an alternative. Specific meetings and locations will be determined during the project. The annual workshop will be rotated among the participating states.