Trinity Industries of Dallas, manufacturer of the controversial ET-Plus highway guardrail system, has been ordered to pay a $663 million judgment for defrauding the Federal Highway Administration. The ruling, issued on June 9 in U.S. District Court in Texas, is based on an October 2014 verdict of a False Claims Act whistleblower lawsuit that found Trinity modified components of the ET-Plus in 2005 without notifying the agency.
Numerous deaths and injuries have since been associated with alleged failures in the ET-Plus end terminal, despite tests that the FHWA says support the system’s safety and continued eligibility for federal reimbursement.