Assessment of the durability of wet night visible pavement markings : wet visibility project phase IV.

Details

• Creators:
  Gibbons, Ronald B. ; Williams, Brian M.
• Corporate Creators:
  Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  Virginia. Dept. of Transportation ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Road markings
  • Rumble strips
  • Traffic control devices
  • Wet weather
  • Night
  • Night visibility
  • Visibility
  • Visibility distance
  • Durability
  • Pavements
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  VCTIR 12-R13
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Virginia
• Edition:
  Final contract; Mar. 2009-Feb. 2012.
• Corporate Publisher:
  Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research
• Abstract:
  This project encompassed a research effort to establish the durability of pavement markings in an on-road installation. Six ; marking technologies were installed on a portion of Route 460 in Blacksburg, Virginia. A human factors experiment in natural ; rain conditions was performed to establish the visibility needs of the driver. The retroreflectivity of the markings was measured ; at intervals of 2 to 5 months, with six measurements over the course of 23 months. The numbers of snow plow crossings and ; chemical treatments were also measured. ; Although all markings lost a considerable amount of retroreflectivity after the first winter, the markings installed in ; grooves or in rumble strips were shown to retain more retroreflectivity and receive less damage than markings installed on the ; surface of the roadway. Twenty-three months after installation, the retroreflectivity for all markings in active rain conditions ; had dropped below the 150 mcd/m2/lx minimum recommended from previous research. The reflective tape was the closest to ; maintaining the minimum with a mean retroreflectivity of 137mcd/m2/lx in 1 in/hr rain. Several other markings maintained a ; retroreflectivity above 84 mcd/m2/lx; this may still provide a benefit over standard paint. ; The study recommends that VDOT’s Traffic Engineering Division install pavement markings in grooves or in rumble ; strips. VDOT will determine where the use of grooves or rumble strips is appropriate. Because pavement marking visibility is ; more critical for high-speed roadways such as interstate roadways and major arterials, these roads should be the highest priority. ; Grooved markings may also be desired for high-volume roadways where markings may be exposed to higher levels of wear ; from traffic. The study markings on Route 460 in Blacksburg should be monitored for two more years. The study team should ; make the measurements after each winter through 2013 and report the findings to VDOT in a brief report. VDOT staff should ; perform additional cost-benefit analyses to address standard VDOT policy, procedures, and practices and possible supplier ; warranties
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  93111
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/24476/dot_24476_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 831.38 KB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:cee0d6ff3012f964398386898c94319216e0e03f3e1c2d11c1d94d5c0fec5073