J-J Hooks MASH-Tested anchored precast safety barrier wins wide approval from 20 state DOTS

August 28, 2014 | J-J Hooks

Well-received by state DOTs, J-J Hooks anchored barriers passed the demanding MASH TL3 crash test requirements with ease

MIDLAND, Va., August 26, 2014 – Easi-Set Worldwide reports that its MASH-tested J-J Hooks anchored barrier has been approved by 20 state Departments of Transportation and that additional approvals are expected in the near future. MASH presents uniform federal guidelines for crash-testing permanent and temporary highway safety features and recommends evaluation criteria to assess test results.

The new precast barrier design easily met the demanding MASH-TL3 crash test requirements and sustained the industry’s lowest permanent deflections in both the bolted and pinned test configurations. Bolted installations require only two bolts for every 12-foot section (most precast barriers require three), while pinned installations incorporate steel rods that are driven down into the asphalt and then into the sub-base below.

“When a car hits it, the barrier stays in position and doesn’t ‘walk’ off the roadway,” said Moffette Tharpe, Managing Director for Easi-Set Worldwide. When combined with the widely recognized and successful J-J Hooks freestanding barrier tested to NCHRP 350 TL3 requirements, the new product provides state DOTs with an extremely cost-effective solution for a wide range of installation requirements.

Tharpe, who estimates that 90-95 percent of all road barrier installations are free-standing (i.e., not pinned or bolted) said the new anchored product gives state DOTs a speedier option for installing and removing the barrier at the construction site. “We’ve seen wide acceptance of this product because of the expanded choices it provides DOTs,” said Tharpe.

J-J Hooks MASH-tested anchored barrier was recently installed (bolted) on bridges in Boston (on the Larz Anderson Memorial Bridge in Cambridge) and New Castle, Del., (on the U.S. 13 overpass at Baylor Blvd.). “The ease and speed of installing the J-J Hooks barrier on bridges – which required just two bolts per 12-foot section – significantly reduced lane closure times,” said Tharpe, “and greatly minimized traffic disruption.” Bolted installations on bridges utilize an anchoring system, jointly-developed with Hilti, which does not damage bridge decks and allows the barrier to be easily removed after construction is completed.

J-J Hooks, North America’s most successful, proprietary precast concrete temporary barrier connection, has an extensive history of success and currently exceeds 12 million linear feet of product delivered. Installed on highway construction projects and in security barrier applications nationwide, J-J Hooks are being delivered at an average pace of one million feet annually. Easi-Set Worldwide’s newest J-J Hooks licensed producer is Nashville-based Sherman-Dixie, which operates 10 precast manufacturing facilities across the mid-south. “For over 50 years, Sherman-Dixie has been committed to producing the highest quality concrete products on the market,” said Art Miles, President, Easi-Set Worldwide. “We’re extremely pleased to have this company as a member of the Easi-Set family.”

About Smith-Midland Corporation

Smith-Midland Corporation (DE) is a publicly traded company (OTCQB: SMID). Smith-Midland (VA), a wholly-owned subsidiary, develops, manufactures, and sells a broad array of precast concrete products for use primarily in the construction, transportation, and utilities industries. SMC (DE) has two manufacturing facilities located in Midland, Virginia and Reidsville, North Carolina. Easi-Set® Worldwide, another subsidiary of Smith-Midland Corporation (DE), licenses the production and sale of proprietary precast products around the world. For more information on J-J Hooks, please call (540) 439-8911, or visit www.jjhooks.com, www.easiset.com, or www.SmithMidland.com

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