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Preliminary Economic Impacts of Implementing Minimum Levels of Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity

FINAL REPORT
Publication No. FHWA-SA-08-010

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Prepared for
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
FHWA Office of Safety
Washington, DC 20590

Prepared by
Texas Transportation Institute
3135 TAMU
College Station, Texas 77843-3135

Under contract to
Battelle
505 King Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43201

FINAL REPORT
JULY 2008

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Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)

1. Report No. FHWA-SA-08-010		2. Government Accession No.	3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle Preliminary Economic Impacts of Implementing Minimum Levels of Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity			5. Report Date July 2008
			6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) H. Gene Hawkins, Jr., Michael P. Pratt, and Paul J. Carlson			8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address Texas Transportation Institute The Texas A&M University System College Station, TX 77843-3135 under contract to Battelle 505 King Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43201-2693			10. Work Unit No.
			11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-01-C-00182 Task Order BA82B013
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Office of Safety Federal Highway Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590			13. Type of Report and Period Covered Summary Report July 2004 - July 2008
			14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes Research conducted under subcontract to Battelle as part of a contract with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Matt Lupes, COTM Edward Sheldahl, COTR
16. Abstract The implementation of minimum levels of pavement marking retroreflectivity may lead some agencies to change the types of pavement marking materials used on roads and/or may result in a changed service life for the marking materials they currently used. To assess the economic impacts, researchers developed a spreadsheet-based analysis tool that calculates the costs associated with implementing minimum retroreflectivity levels. The spreadsheet considers the impacts of retroreflectivity levels, choice of materials, cost of materials, roadway types, and roadway mileage. The researchers used the analysis tool to assess several different scenarios that considered retroreflectivity level (low, base, and high), marking cost (low, base, and high), and material selection (water-based and selected durable materials). Using the mid-range of assumed pavement marking costs, the analyses described in this report show that the economic impacts of implementing minimum levels of pavement marking retroreflectivity range from $0 to almost $150 million per year, depending on the assumptions used in the analysis. In some cases, the analyses show that potential cost savings can be realized when status quo practices are compared to alternative practices that include the use of more durable pavement marking materials.
17. Key Words Pavement markings, traffic control devices, retroreflectivity		18. Distribution Statement No restrictions.
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified	20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified	21. No. of Pages 46	22. Price N/A

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized.

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Preliminary Economic Impacts of Implementing Minimum Levels of Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity

Prepared by

H. Gene Hawkins, Jr., Ph.D., P.E.
Texas Transportation Institute
College Station, Texas

Michael P. Pratt
Texas Transportation Institute
College Station, Texas

and

Paul J. Carlson, Ph.D., P.E.
Texas Transportation Institute
College Station, Texas

Prepared under contract to
Battelle
Transportation Market Sector
Columbus, Ohio

Prepared for
FHWA Office of Safety
Washington, D.C.

Sponsored by the
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration

July 2008

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Table of Contents

• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Basic Input Data
  • Pavement Marking Quantities
    • Roadway Mileage
    • Pavement Marking Configurations
    • Pavement Marking Material Quantities
  • Pavement Marking Service Life and Material Cost
  • Potential Retroreflectivity Values
    • Internal FHWA Initial Research Recommendations
    • FHWA Pavement Marking Workshop Recommendations
    • ATSSA Recommendations
    • Summary of Minimum Retroreflectivity Guidelines
• Chapter 3: Development of Economic Impacts Model
  • Spreadsheet Protocol
    • Overview of Worksheets
      • Mileage Worksheet
      • Laneage Worksheet
      • Marking Specifications Worksheet
      • Intermediate Calculations Worksheet
      • Summary Worksheet
  • Spreadsheet Calculation Methodology
    • Default Data Sources
    • Roadway Center Line Mileage Inventory
    • Laneage Calculations and Counts of Pavement Marking Quantities
    • Material Cost and Service Life Considerations
    • Total Cost and Economic Impact of Retroreflectivity Standard
    • Summary of Costs and Impacts
• Chapter 4: Impacts Assessment
• Chapter 5: Conclusions
• Chapter 6: References
• Appendix A: Roadway Striping Configurations
• Appendix B: Economic Analysis Spreadsheet

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List of Figures

• Figure 1. Economic Impact Analysis Methodology.
• Figure 2. Rural Interstate, Urban Interstate, Urban Other Freeway and Expressway Striping Configuration.
• Figure 3. Rural Principal Arterial Striping Configuration.
• Figure 4. Urban Principal Arterial Striping Configuration.
• Figure 5. Rural Minor Arterial Striping Configuration.
• Figure 6. Urban Minor Arterial Striping Configuration.
• Figure 7. Rural Major Collector and Urban Collector Striping Configuration.

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List of Tables

• Table 1. Marking Material Installation Costs Used in Analysis.
• Table 2. 1999 FHWA Research Recommendations for Minimum Retroreflectivity
• Table 3. Zwahlen's Recommended Required RL for Pavement Markings
• Table 4. Workshop Recommended Speed-Based Minimum Values for Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity
• Table 5. Workshop Recommended Classification-Based Minimum Values for Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity
• Table 6. ATSSA Minimum Retroreflectivity Levels
• Table 7. Summary of Retroreflectivity Recommendations
• Table 8. Retroreflectivity Levels Used in Economic Analysis
• Table 9. Rural Functional Classification Percentages
• Table 10. Urban Functional Classification Percentages
• Table 11. Width Groups for Rural Roadways
• Table 12. Width Groups for Urban Roadways
• Table 13. Functional Classification Matching with Speed Groups
• Table 14. Material Percentages for Combination of Materials Scenarios
• Table 15. Economic Analysis Results
• Table S-1. Functional System Inventory
• Table S-2. Functional System Ownership Matrix
• Table S-3. Rural Highway Laneage Parameters
• Table S-4. Rural Two-Lane Highway Passing Parameters
• Table S-5. Rural Three-Lane Highway Passing Parameters
• Table S-6. Urban Highway Laneage Parameters
• Table S-7. Urban Two-Lane Highway Passing Parameters
• Table S-8. Urban Three-Lane Highway Passing Parameters
• Table S-9. Pavement Marking Material Costs
• Table S-10. White Pavement Marking Material Service Life
• Table S-11. Yellow Pavement Marking Material Service Life
• Table S-12. Rural Summary
• Table S-13. Urban Summary
• Table S-14. Rural and Urban Summary

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