AASHTO council unanimously supports resolution to convert MASH into a performance spec

AASHTO’s Council on Highways and Streets voted Wednesday to support a resolution to convert the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) to a specification.

The vote took place during the Council’s meeting as part of AASHTO’s annual meeting in San Diego.

AASHTO maintains MASH and commissioned the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) to conduct a scoping study on the idea of converting MASH 2016 to a specification. The study was completed this year, according to a presentation by Maine Department of Transportation Chief Engineer Joyce Taylor, who serves as vice chair of AASHTO’s Committee on Design. The association also held two webinars in June with state and industry officials to address opportunities and challenges the conversion would bring.

The move to convert MASH into a performance specification is aimed at “developing a more consistent testing of roadside hardware,” according to the Council on Highways and Streets resolution.

The matter would need approval by the AASHTO Board of Directors.

To start the proposed conversion process a work plan is to be developed “to investigate the issues and concerns raised during the webinars and work with states and industry in addressing these concerns and making modifications to the conversion plan as needed,” the resolution states. It also would include ongoing work with public and private partners to define roles and responsibilities related to implementation.

ATSSA Innovation & Technical Services Manager Nagham Matout is attending the meeting.