Guard rail replacement underway along Route 17A

WARWICK — Not to worry.
A faulty guardrail component in New York that was recently criticized by U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer is not the reason road crews have been stopping traffic along State Route 17A.

According to New York State Department of Transportation spokesperson Jennifer Post and David De John, the construction supervisor for contractor Elderlee, Inc., the guard rails recently installed along Route 17A are Box Beam Guard Rails that have nothing to do with the much reported dangerous guardrail.

Schumer had sent an official complaint in October that called on the Federal Highway Administration to conduct a top-to-bottom review of a dangerous guardrail component that may be installed on roads across upstate New York. And he asked the agency to identify where these components are located so that they can be more readily replaced.

Schumer explained that a guard rail end product manufactured by Trinity Highway Products, called "ET-Plus," was found to malfunction during motor vehicle accidents, endangering the lives of drivers and passengers.

The "ET-Plus" guardrail end terminal was intended to reduce the impact of a collision and deflect the guardrail from the vehicle.

However, Trinity's re-designed "ET-Plus" guardrail end terminal can jam, turning the guardrail into a dangerous spear that can pierce through the vehicle, killing or injuring those inside.

Elderlee, Inc. is a diversified corporation specializing in the manufacturing and construction of highway safety products.

The company has recently been installing box beam guardrail systems for median and shoulder applications on Route 17A.

New York State has banned the installation of the end rail and dangerous guardrail component that may have previously been installed on roads across upstate New York.

- Roger Gavan