U.S. Department of Transportation
400 Seventh St., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590

Federal Highway Administration
July 14, 2003

Refer to: HOTO-l

Mr. Gary L. Hoffman
Deputy Secretary for Highway Administration
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Dear Mr. Hoffman:

Thank you for your May 27 letter to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Pennsylvania Division Office Administrator James Cheatham requesting approval to experiment with a white flashing LED in conjunction with "ACTIVE WORK ZONE WHEN FLASHING INCREASED PENALTIES" signs. Your letter was subsequently forwarded to the Office of Transportation Operations for consideration.

This is to advise that we have reviewed your submittal and concur with the experimental plan as revised to include before and after speed studies at the 11 test sites that you select for experimentation. Many projects approved for experimentation by FHWA gather speed related data. Your experimental plan is designed to raise awareness of the fact that there are workers present on or adjacent to the roadway in work zones. While surveys of motorists are likely to provide an indication of that awareness and lend some credence to the success of the signs and LED's, whether their operating speeds are reduced in response to the new device is another desired outcome, particularly from the highway workers perspective. In your final report, please provide a brief description of the sites where the device is tested and the kind of temporary traffic control at the sites. Reference to a Typical Application in Part 6H of the MUTCD, along with ADT and any other significant conditions at each site would be helpful for our evaluation of your experimentation. We also understand that the flashing LED will be used in two different ways. For typical construction projects, the LED will be on top of the sign. For maintenance and utility work where roll up or other low mounted signs may be used, the LED will be placed on the ground next to the sign. Please note this in your final report as well.

Your experimentation request is approved until the end of this year. For future reference purposes, we have assigned the following official experimentation number and title to your request: 6-193(Ex)-"ACTIVE WORK ZONE WHEN FLASHING INCREASED PENALTIES PENNDOT." Please refer to this number in future correspondence.

Thank you for your interest in improving traffic safety for workers and motorists in temporary traffic control zones through the use of innovative traffic control devices. We look forward to receiving your final report in November or December of this year

If you have any questions about this response or during the course of your experimentation, please contact Mr. Peter Rusch at 608-239-1852: peter.rusch@fhwa.dot.gov or Mr. Ernest Huckaby at 202-366-9064 ernest.huckaby@fhwa.dot.gov .

Sincerely yours,

Vincent Pearce
Acting Director, Office of Transportation
Operations

cc: Mr. Jim Baron, ATSSA

Memorandum

U. S. Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration

Subject: Request for Experimental Approval
White LED Flashing Warning Light
Date: June 11, 2003

Reply to
Attn. of: HSF-PA
From: James A. Cheatham
Division Administrator
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

To: Ms. Shelley Row, Director
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Transportation Operations
400 Seventh Street, SW, ROTO
Washington, DC, 20590

Attached is a request from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENNDOT) to experiment with a flashing white LED light on warning signs used in advance of "active work zones".

I hereby request your approval to experiment with this new color for warning lights as detailed in the request from PENNDOT.

PENNDOT plans to implement the new signs by the end of June so we would appreciate your expeditious review. If you have any questions, please contact Michael Castellano, Safety Engineer, at 717-221-4517.

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