A New Standard Is Born:
Enhanced Guardrail End Terminals (E-GETs)
High Speed (75 MPH+) & Non-Gating Guardrail End Terminal
About The NGT
The NGT is the world’s first MASH TL-3, non-gating W-beam guardrail end terminal. With the shortest length-of-need, the NGT gives DOTs and roadside designers maximum flexibility when designing guardrail layouts. The NGT also has fewer unique parts than many common end terminals and can be installed in 45 minutes or less.
Most importantly, the NGT will save lives.
A High-Speed Guardrail End Terminal for the Future
Vehicles aren’t getting smaller and drivers aren’t driving slower. The NGT is the first known guardrail end terminal successfully tested at high speeds well in excess of MASH TL-3 criteria. While transportation authorities look to increase the use of high-speed corridors, the NGT is the guardrail end terminal of the future that can grow with your agency and provide the enhanced protection the traveling public deserves.
The Next Generation Difference
Every year, hundreds of roadway departures result in fatalities due to vehicles “gating” through the guardrail end terminal and striking a hazard. Current guardrail end terminal technology only consistently stops end-on vehicle strikes at shallow angles (+/- 3 degrees). The NGT safely stops nearly all vehicles that strike the end terminal at 15 degrees or less.
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• Crash tested up to 77.5 MPH
• Non-gating up to 15°
• 6’3” Length of Need
• No Spearing
• Install with standard guardrail equipment
• Fewer unique parts = easy inventory management
• Quick install reduces crew exposure in work zone
• Shorter required length = less exposure & nuisance hits
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vs.
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• Only crash tested up to 62 MPH
• Gates at 3° or more allowing vehicle to travel ~150 feet
• 12’ - 18’ Length of Need (Post 3 or greater)
• Risk of guardrail spearing into vehicle
• Custom field equipment needed
• Complex inventory management
• Lengthy installs exposes crew to traffic
• Longer required length = more exposure and nuisance hits
Seeing is Believing
Check out some side by side videos of NGT crash tests vs. the competition.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The NGT was tested to all seven of the required MASH tests.
For both Test 3-30 and 3-31, the impact conditions were explicitly determined by MASH.
For both Tests 3-32 and 3-33, the nominal impact angle was 15 degrees, since it was being evaluated as a non-gating device.
For Test 3-34, the impact location was near the front edge of the NGT head, approximately 3 feet upstream of Post 1.
For Test 3-35, the impact location was at Post 2, which is 6’-3” from Post 1, and is the official beginning of the Length-of-Need of the NGT.
For Test 3-37, the reverse direction impact, a small car was selected as the critical vehicle, following the recommendations in MASH. The impact location was near Post 4, which was about 12’-6” from Post 1.
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You can out more information by clicking this link to visit our about page.
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The Dodge Ram 1500 traveled 47’-11” in Test 3-31.
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Not including fastener hardware, there are eight unique parts.
Impact head (1)
Anchor post (1)
Post 1 (1)
Posts 2 - 9 (8)
Shelf bracket (1)
First guardrail panel, fused together with the cable (1)
Standard blockouts (7)
Notched blockouts (2)
Total: 22 parts, not including bolts/nuts/washers
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A post driving cap is needed for all posts, like those used for driving standard line posts anywhere else
A unique post cap is needed to drive the anchor post. This cap fits around the assembly so that nothing on the anchor post needs to be disassembled and reassembled during installation.
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The Anchor post to Post 1 is 6’-3”
Post 1 to Post 2 is 6’-3”
Post 2 to Post 9 is 3’-1.5” throughout (half-post spacing)
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The NGT has been tested using wooden blockouts, but they evacuate quickly either by being pushed away or by fracturing.
The posts include slots for the post bolt, rather than holes, allowing the bolt to separate from the post even if it fails to pull through the guardrail.
Because the bolt can release from the post in either way, the blockout itself is not critical - either it remains intact and or not.
Because of this, and because other extruding-type terminals have successfully employed plastic blockouts, the NGT can be used with either wooden or plastic blockouts.
The two specialty blockouts (notched) may be an exception, but NextGen is currently investigating the possibility of creating a plastic mold for these blockouts as well.
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The first panel of guardrail in the NGT is 23’-4” from edge-to-edge. This spans the distance between Post 1 and Post 7, which is 21’-10.5”.
Guardrail panels after that can be standard 12’-6” or 25’-0” lengths.
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The Dodge Ram 1500 weighed 4,912 lbs and was traveling at 77.5 mph, which equates to 986.3 kip-ft. In the test, a BCT cable anchor interfered with the terminal head. Considering the rate of energy dissipation was linear prior to this interferrence, the projected stopping distance was 69.5 feet.
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Small car: 9.73 g’s (ORA) and 32.7 fps (OIV)
Pickup: 11.04 g’s (ORA) and 21.8 fps (OIV)
Contact Us
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