UNSPSC 46161515: Crash cushion

A type of device that undertakes the role of a buffer by absorbing the shock for the purpose of minimizing the disaster with lessening of the impact force received from the direct collision to the road facilities during the vehicle operation.

UNSPSC 46161515 Crash cushion is a Commodity code that describes road safety devices deployed at highway work zones, intersections, and special events to protect workers, equipment, and the public. Recent state and local solicitations under this code reflect a fragmented market where crash cushions appear infrequently as standalone line items, with the bulk of procurement activity directed toward broader traffic control and work-zone management services that bundle crash cushions with temporary barricades, signs, cones, and personnel-led deployment. State and local jurisdictions—including cities, counties, transit authorities, and state transportation departments—solicit traffic control services regionally, with issuing bodies scattered across Georgia, Florida, Texas, Utah, and other states rather than concentrated in a single jurisdiction or region. Representative recent opportunities include the Georgia Department of Transportation's RFQ for work-zone temporary traffic control devices (quote due October 23, 2026); the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners' ITB for rental of traffic control devices including barricades and barrier systems with estimated value $688,970 over three years (due October 28, 2026); and the Utah Department of Transportation's IFB for Tau Systems Crash Cushion and End Treatment systems and parts (bid due June 19, 2026), which directly names crash cushion procurement and requires delivery within 30 days of request for systems and 72 hours for replacement parts.

Geographic activity spans Florida counties (Hillsborough, Pasco, Orange, Broward), Georgia (state DOT and city of Atlanta), Texas (Dallas, Harris County Toll Road Authority, City of Gainesville), Utah, and California, with no single state or region dominating the recent opportunity list. The Utah UDOT solicitation is the most explicit match to the Commodity code, specifying Universal TAU II Wide and Universal TAU M crash cushions with compliance to UDOT Standard Specification 02843; however, most state and local buyers package crash cushions within work-zone traffic control contracts that also include temporary barricade rentals, cones, variable message boards, and deployment labor. This bundling pattern reflects procurement practice at transportation agencies and special-events coordinators that treat crash cushions as one component of comprehensive traffic control rather than a standalone capital purchase. Vendorship requires compliance with MUTCD standards, often FDOT prequalification certification for Florida jurisdictions, commercial general liability insurance ($1 million minimum per occurrence), and in many cases, workers' compensation and automotive liability coverage. The code shows moderate but episodic activity; crash cushion opportunities are not routine across all state and local procurement offices and are most active where highway construction, intersection signalization, and special-event traffic management drive frequent work-zone deployments.