1. Living on the Edge Pavement Markings 101
Mn/DOT OTST
Office of Traffic, Safety, and Technology

2. Pavement Marking Engineer Pavement Marking and Work Zone Engineer
Presenters
Mitch Bartelt, PE
Pavement Marking Engineer
Ken E. Johnson, PE
Pavement Marking and Work Zone Engineer

3. Overview What are pavement markings?
MnMUTCD
Big picture
Colors, patterns and widths
Types of markings
What are pavement markings made of?
Materials used and why

4. Overview (2 of 2) Exciting new implementations!!! Rumble stripEs
Wet-reflective
Grooving
Others

5. MnMUTCD MN Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices
MN Statute –
“The commissioner shall adopt a manual … for a uniform system of traffic-control devices … for use upon highways within this state.”

6. MnMUTCD MN Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices
Example of importance:
Up until the 1971 version of the Federal MUTCD, white was allowed as a color for centerlines in the United States. The 1971 version standardized yellow for centerlines following decades of debate.

7. Purpose of Pavement Markings
Communication system for drivers
Provide traffic control
Provide guidance
Supplement other traffic control devices

8. Four categories of markings
Longitudinal lines
Parallel to the direction of travel
Transverse lines
Perpendicular to the direction of travel
Arrows, words and symbol markings
Special markings

9. Markings are a language
Colors, widths and patterns are similar to the alphabet
When put together, you get a ‘word’ – particularly with longitudinal and transverse markings
Example:
- Yellow
- Normal width
- Double line
Centerline in a no passing zone

10. Longitudinal lines
Delineate vehicular paths of travel (tell cars where to go)
Marking:
Centerlines
Lanes of travel
Edgelines

11. Longitudinal lines Basic concepts of colors, patterns and widths
Yellow lines
Delineate the separation of opposing traffic flows
Or mark the left edge of pavement of one-way roadway
White lines
Delineate the separation of same direction traffic flows
Or mark the right edge of pavement
Solid lines are restrictive
Broken lines are permissive (MN 10’ line – 40’ gap)
Dotted lines have multiple meanings (context)
Double lines – maximum restrictions
Width indicates degree of emphasis

12. Centerlines Always yellow and normal width Patterns will give message:
Broken and solid
Single and double
Passing vs. no passing
Special uses of certain lanes

13. Centerlines Always yellow and normal width Patterns will give message:
Broken and solid
Single and double
Passing vs. no passing
Special uses of certain lanes
Reversible
TWLTL

14. Lane Lines Separate lanes in same direction Always white
Patterns will give message whether crossing is:
Permitted (Broken)
Discouraged (Solid)
Prohibited (Double solid)
Special dotted patterns
Lane is exit only or will end
Lane line extensions

15. Lane Lines

16. Lane Lines

17. Edgelines Delineate edge of travelled way Always solid
Color indicates roadway direction
White always on right side
Yellow on left for one-way roadway
Ramp or divided highway
White on left for two-way roadway
Width indicates degree of emphasis
Used in gores and drop lanes
Wisconsin uses to indicate turn lanes

18. Edgelines

19. Transverse Markings
Stop line
Yield line
Crosswalks

20. Arrow, words, and symbol markings

21. Special Markings
Parking spaces
Cross hatching
Speed hump

22. Pavement Marking Haiku
Two way left turn lane
I cannot pass, I can pass
Oh my gosh, wrong way!

23. Stats!
There were total miles striped on MnDOT trunkline highways in 2008
3502 miles of construction striping
19140 miles of maintenance striping
MnDOT spent a total of $12.1 million in 2008 on pavement markings
$5.7 million of construction striping
$6.4 million of maintenance striping
Our laserlux van took 7102 miles of retro-reflective readings in 2009

24. Pavement Marking Materials
Retroreflective elements (beads)
Liquid pavement markings
“Beads” added during application
Latex
Epoxy
Preformed polymer tape
“Beads” imbedded
Preformed thermoplastic
Symbols and messages

25. Pavement Marking Materials
As an agency, MnDOT primarily uses three types of products:
Latex Paint
Epoxy
Preformed Polymer Tape

26. Pavement Marking General Life Expectancy
Material
Approximate Expected Life
Latex Paint
1+ year
Epoxy
3-5 years
Preformed Polymer Tape
Up to 10 years

27. Pros & Cons: Latex Paint
The cheapest option
Easiest to apply
Cons:
Least durable
Most susceptible to wear from higher traffic volumes
Will likely need to be replaced every year

28. Pros & Cons: Epoxy Pros: Cons: More durable than latex
Cheaper than tape
Cons:
Lacks UV stability
More complicated than latex paint to apply
More expensive than latex

29. Pros & Cons: Preformed Polymer Tape
Durable (if applied correctly)
Better retroreflectivity than other products
Cons:
More expensive than
other products
Product failure can
cause you to lose entire
marking

30. Total Striping Mileage*
(Construction + Maintenance)
* Does Not Include Pavement Messages
April 24, 2009
Operations Division

31. Total Striping Expenditures* (Construction + Maintenance)
* Does not include Pavement Messages
April 24, 2009
Operations Division

32. What’s coming? Materials we’re experimenting with
OTST safety research with pavement markings
Rumble stripEs
Wet-reflective markings
Grooving

33. Materials we’re experimenting with
Precut Thermoplastic Pavement Messages
Polyurea
MMA (Methyl Methacrylate)
Wet-reflective epoxy elements

34. OTST Safety Research
Enhanced Edgelines to reduce run off the road crashes
Ground-in wet reflective paint
100 miles in District 4 on I-94
6” wide lines
300 miles statewide
Rumble stripEs
Safety Initiatives led by Brad Estochen; should have conclusive results by the end of Clear direction given from the public on rumble strips: 86% statewide “totally agree that they are a worthwhile warning of driving outside the lane”
April 24, 2009
Operations Division

35. Edgeline Rumble stripEs
Provides wet-reflectivity
Provides tactile warning
Distracted driver
Limited visibility conditions
Snow
Fog
Etc

36. Centerline Rumble StripEs
NCHRP 641 – Rural Roads
9 percent reduction in total crashes
12 percent reduction in FI crashes
30 percent reduction in total target crashes
44 percent reduction in FI target crashes

37. Shoulder Rumble Strips
NCHRP 641 – Shoulder rumble strip data
Rural 2-lane roads
15 percent reduction in SVROR crashes
29 percent reduction in SVROR FI crashes
Rural multi-lane divided
22 percent reduction in SVROR crashes and
51 percent reduction in SVROR FI crashes

38. Wet-reflective markings
Epoxy With Wet-Reflective Elements
Epoxy With Standard 1.5 Index Beads
Wet-reflective elements added to epoxy or latex, resulting in a wet-reflective marking

39. Grooving in markings
We know that the marking lasts longer and stays protected
Is grooving in materials cost-effective? Depends…

40. Contrast is important, too
We worked in concert with Metro Traffic and I-35W Design/Build to address these complaints
Drivers complained about lack of daytime visibility of markings on new 35W bridge
Each tape skip was tagged with black epoxy as a late-season countermeasure
April 24, 2009
Operations Division

41. QUESTIONS…………
Omnibus n= 800 Statewide unless otherwise noted 41