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The objective of this project was to fully implement the Pavement Marking Management Tool by incorporating retroreflectivity and striping data (MnDOT and contractors) and simplifying the process of data collection, storage, and analysis. As part of achieving full implementation, the researchers provided training to MnDOT central office staff and staff in each of the districts. Improved pavement marking management has the potential to reduce MnDOT's costs, improve pavement marking performance, and in return provide a more efficient and safe driving experience for the traveling public. The result of this effort included a web-portal for submitting pavement marking data (paint and retroreflectivity), a geographic information system (GIS) web based tool to manage, view, and create reports on pavement marking data, and training on the data collection and tool. This technical memorandum presents project findings by task.

This research effort provided the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) with field data on the performance of pavement marking materials when used as rumble stripes on MnDOT roadways. These field efforts provide a perspective on the impact that both wear and winter maintenance practices have on retroreflectivity. Given that these markings were installed by a variety of MnDOT contractors and at different times and roadways, this report also serves to document the range of retroreflectivity provided to drivers at any given time on similar two-lane MnDOT roadways under the installation practice guidelines at the time of installation (2012 to 2013). More specifically, these measurements consider the difference in retroreflectivity provided by direction of travel (e.g., for the same marking, what is the retroreflectivity while driving northbound versus southbound?) and by roadway. The long-term evaluation collected field measurements both initially and after two winters (18 months) for centerline rumble stripes only and on seven segments over three different roadways. The in-service evaluation included new centerline and profile rumble stripEs, all of which were installed as part of the 2013 mill and overlay projects on bituminous surfaces within District 4 on two-lane MnDOT roadways. The retroreflectivity data were collected one winter (approximately 12 months) after installation with no initial measurement data being available. This effort included measuring the centerline rumble stripe performance over eight segments on four different roadways and the profile rumble stripe performance over 18 segments on 10 different roadways.

Pavement marking is important for safety. Maximizing pavement marking performance in terms of increased retroreflectivity; within limited budget constraints; allows agencies to make better decisions toward providing more effective pavement marking performance on their roadway networks. This research project included conducting a survey of local agencies' pavement marking practices; mining existing National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (NTPEP) pavement marking data; and developing recommendations for future pavement marking research to support local agency needs. The NTPEP pavement marking performance data (related to pavement marking products used by local agencies in Minnesota) was analyzed to provide guidance to local agencies in terms of pavement marking material selection based on performance. The objective included determining pavement marking products of interest to local agencies and developing performance metrics for these products based on existing NTPEP data. The analysis performed on the NTPEP included modeling the deterioration behavior as a function of time. Also two-way ANOVAs were performed to compare various performance measures and the impact of different conditions on these measures.

The objective of this research was to conduct a field trial to evaluate the marking performance of different combinations of pavement marking materials and installation practices on challenging surfaces. The trial included a range of pavement marking products over varied roadway characteristics to assess the performance of different marking materials over different challenging surfaces by product, thickness, bead package, and whether or not a primer was applied. The research team worked with the technical advisory panel (TAP) to document pavement marking performance on several municipal roadways within the city of Eden Prairie and to organize and prepare for field testing of different marking materials on both a seal coat and micro surface roadway. These projects provide pavement marking performance on challenging surfaces information over different conditions (traffic levels and line types) apart from the MnDOT research test deck scenarios. These results provide MnDOT with a basis to consider pavement marking striping practices on challenging surfaces in terms of performance and cost. The high-build materials (primer plus VISILOK) and epoxies showed similar performance, which provides a good basis for material selection.

Pavement marking is an essential component of roadway construction and safety. The markings need to be visible (day and night) so that drivers can quickly identify where the markings are and determine what message is being defined. Good pavement marking provides critical elements to guide drivers on correct road paths, complement road signs that inform and warn drivers, and improve night driving conditions. This project's objective was to review existing pavement marking practices by local agencies in Minnesota (material selection, installation, specifications, and contracting procedures) to provide guidance for maintaining good pavement markings, thereby saving money and increasing road safety. The two specific objectives were as follows: 1. Review existing pavement marking practices in local agencies. 2. Develop recommendations for better management of pavement marking through the use of pavement marking management tools and coordination with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT).

Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) staff has experienced that pavement markings do not perform well on seal coat and micro surface treated roadways, referred to as "challenging surfaces." This report serves as a beginning point and organized approach in addressing pavement marking practices on challenging surface roadways. The project objective was to document existing district practices and issues through several key tasks, which include a literature review, field review, and analysis of existing practice and performance. This effort identified the need for a field trial to provide control in the evaluation of these markings on challenging surfaces. An outline was developed for a future field trial effort, which will evaluate the marking performance of different combinations of pavement marking materials and installation practices. These project findings will be used in conjunction with the resulting field trial evaluations to improve MnDOT guidance and standard practice that will result in better performance, efficiencies, and roadway safety.

This document summarizes the development of a scalable, reliable, and practical process for viewing, querying, understanding, and making consistent, objective, and cost effective decisions regarding pavement marking needs, durability, and quality. The research team developed a Web-based pavement marking management system through the development environment of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 ASP.NET in conjunction with ESRI's ArcGIS Sever Enterprise 9.2 SP4 functionalities to manage and produce the GIS map resources. The web site hosting itself was done on a Windows based server operating Internet Information Services (IIS). The resulting web based mapping tool provides Mn/DOT staff the ability to map and query pavement marking retroreflectivity information and serves as a significant resource to both district and central office staff in developing short and long-term pavement marking plans.

The installation and maintenance of pavement markings represents a significant financial investment for local agencies. Local agencies need a mechanism to better understand the value; cost; and need for markings along their roadways to make the best use of available budgets. This project developed a prioritization approach and spreadsheet tool (link provided in box 15) to assist local agencies in meeting this need. Multicriterion decision analysis using the simple additive weighting method was employed to assess the multiple factors/criteria that affect pavement marking decisions. An Excel spreadsheet tool was developed to implement this approach using different pavement marking alternatives; including centerlines; edgelines; centerlines and edgelines; high-visibility markings; and enhanced-durability markings. The criteria considered by the process include project type; County Roadway Safety Plan (CRSP) rating; functional classification; pavement condition; traffic volume; age of current markings; pavement width; preferences for marking costs; desired marking durability; and crash reduction potential. This tool is posted on the Local Road and Research Board (LRRB) website in the "Resources" section at the following URL: https://lrrb.org/resources/. Factor weights are used to assign a relative importance to each of these criteria for a respective alternative compared to other alternatives. The result is a performance rating score for each marking alternative relative to all model criteria and factors that provide users with information on the relative performance of different marking alternatives in comparison to one another and an estimated project cost for the highest ranking alternative for a site. The highest scoring alternative represents the marking that should be considered for use. Additionally; the tool ranks all sites being evaluated compared to one another based on the highest rating scores from each individual site.