Current Asset Management Practices Applied to Pavement Markings

While the principles and methods of asset management are often illustrated by pavement and bridge examples, the approach applies to other components of the transportation system as well. The objective of NCHRP Synthesis Topic 37-03 was to identify current U.S. and international practices in asset management for six classes of nonpavement, nonbridge infrastructure assets: traffic signals, signing, lighting, pavement markings, culverts, and sidewalks. Addressed are the study's findings in regard to pavement markings specifically. Several aspects of asset management were reviewed, including approaches to asset maintenance, budgeting methods, ways of measuring asset performance, estimates of asset service life, materials usage, information technology support, and perceived knowledge gaps and research needs. Study findings indicated that while there is basic agreement on the value of pavement markings, variations in agency management practice, site conditions, and estimates of service life for different marking materials make it difficult to build a consistent body of knowledge. Issues surrounding the different types of retroreflectometers in use and the reliability and repeatability of their measurements complicate the situation. As a result, key elements of an asset management approach, such as deterioration models for predicting performance and cost, have not yet been developed with wide acceptance and use. Nevertheless, several efforts have been undertaken that may overcome these problems in the future.