Field Performance Evaluation of Thermoplastic Inlay on an Asphalt Pavement Surface: Low Volume Road Cell 26 Final Report

The purpose of this report is to document the field evaluation of a thermoplastic pavement marking material on a 2 year old asphalt pavement located on Cell 26 of MnROAD’s Low Volume Road. HMA pavement reconstruction occurred on the test cell in 2004, using 4 in. of Superpave HMA over a 12-in. Class 6-Special aggregate base. The structural design is based on 20-year ESAL’s of 110,000, according to the MnPAVE design software. The mixture design is identified by Mn/DOT designation SPWEB240B-R.

On May 16, 2006 a total 524 square feet of inlaid thermoplastic pavement marking material was installed on Cell 26. This area included two crosswalks placed across both traffic lanes and a 2 x 100-ft segment installed in the left wheel path of the 80K load lane. The project was part of a
partnership agreement between Mn/DOT and Decorative Pavement Marking, LLC of Plymouth, Mn. The purpose of the project was to evaluate the physical properties of the product, including friction resistance and the evaluation of the overall durability of the pavement surface. Integrated Paving
Concepts Inc. of Vancouver, B.C., supported the project and assisted DPM in the installation process. During the period between May 16, 2006 and August 1, 2007 Cell 26 received 6,809 and 2,003 repetitions of the 80K and 102K truck configurations respectively.