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This request for proposals (RFP) is issued to satisfy the requirement to crash test and evaluate the impact performance of safety hardware devices used or will be used off the NHS by Federal Land Mana... This request for proposals (RFP) is issued to satisfy the requirement to crash test and evaluate the impact performance of safety hardware devices used or will be used off the NHS by Federal Land Management Agencies, counties and cities, and Tribal Nations when cost, maintenance and compatibility with the local setting is important. These tests are to determine that these safety hardware devices meet safety performance criteria set forth under MASH Test Level criteria. This RFP will result in a firm fixed priced contract. The period of performance is thirty months from the effective date of contract award. ==================================================== Background: FHWA is transitioning to the latest crash test criteria for road safety hardware. This means transitioning from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350 Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features to the AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) methods. The goal is to make off-National Highway System (NHS) roads, bridges and highways as safe as possible, in part by accelerating the move to newer crash test criteria for Steel-Backed Timber roadway and Tubular Steel Backed Timber bridge safety hardware devices. Upon completion of successful crash testing of the five safety hardware device systems the FHWA will share the MASH test results and the standard details with the transportation community In 2016, 37,461 people died on our nation's highways. Of those, 21,222 (57%) died on roadways off the National Highway System (NHS). More than 70% of the vehicles involved in these off-NHS fatal crashes were driving on rural, two lane highways with posted speeds of 55 mph or less. A high percentage of these crashes are attributable to run off the road departures. Local governments, tribes and Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMA), the primary off-NHS owners, use combinations of road safety devices to prevent vehicles from colliding with dangerous obstacles such as trees, mountain sides, bridge ends, or traversing steep (non- recoverable) slopes or entering deep water. The impact conditions of roadside safety hardware vary as a function of site and traffic characteristics. Local agencies, tribes and FLMAs are often faced with constrained right of way, the need for aesthetic design and limited view shed obstructions, difficult geometry, frequent access points, compatibility with non-motorized users and low maintenance budgets. The same vehicles that increased in size and bumper height on the NHS also use this system. Therefore, hardware crashworthiness is of upmost concern considering the high number of run off the road fatalities off the NHS and necessitates the need for MASH testing for hardware not typically used on the NHS. MASH is an update to and supersedes NCHRP Report 350 for the purposes of evaluating new safety hardware devices. An implementation plan for MASH that was adopted jointly by AASHTO and FHWA states that highway safety hardware accepted prior to the adoption of MASH - using criteria contained in NCHRP Report 350 - may remain in place. However, on the NHS, only safety hardware evaluated using MASH will be allowed for new installations. This project proposes to follow AASHTO 2016 Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) to crash test and document a Steel-Backed Timber roadway barrier, transition, and terminal, and a Tubular Steel-Backed Timber bridge rail and transition common to the off-NHS system. This MASH testing will provide additional crashworthy alternative systems for local, federal, and tribal agencies and decrease occupant risk if they impact a device that meets current crash test standards. The Objective: The goal of this project is to crash test and evaluate the impact performance of safety hardware devices used or will be used off the NHS by Federal Land Management Agencies, counties and cities, and Tribal Nations when cost, maintenance and compatibility with the local setting is important. These tests are to determine that these safety hardware devices meet safety performance criteria set forth under MASH Test Level criteria. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. A Request for Proposals is anticipated to be published, through the Federal Business Opportunities website, in August of 2019. The RFP will be issued utilizing Full and Open Competition. Once the solicitation is posted, all interested responsible sources may submit a proposal which will be considered by the FHWA. The solicitation will be available electronically via the Government Point of Entry (GPE) at www.fbo.gov. Any questions regarding this synopsis should be directed to Matthew Carr, Contract Specialist, via email at: Matthew.Carr@dot.gov Or to Robin K. Hobbs, Contracting Officer, via email at: Robin.Hobbs@dot.gov