The purpose of the Project is to upgrade bridge railing systems to comply with the design and installation standards outlined in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), thereby protecting the traveling public by enhancing the reliability of the bridge railings.

​

The Project is needed to meet current Caltrans bridge railing safety standards. Safety standards for highway design consider speed, transportation modes, surrounding land use, size of current vehicles using the road, and the required safe distances between motorized and non-motorized traffic. The four bridges range from 65 to 94 years old. Modern vehicles travel at higher speeds than vehicles that were on the road at the time the bridges were constructed. Therefore, the bridge railings at these four locations need to be upgraded to comply with the design and installation standards outlined in the AASHTO MASH to reduce the potential for accidents to happen to the traveling public.