The performance of sixteen different pavement marking materials including waterborne traffic paint, thermoplastic, preformed thermoplastic, epoxy, polyurea, modified urethane, methyl methacrylate, and durable tapes, was evaluated on selected Portland cement concrete bridge decks, connected to mainline asphalt pavement, located in Ashland and Richland counties in ODOT District 3 along interstate I-71. Each material was installed in four locations along the three lanes of the interstate. Yellow was installed on the left edge line and white was installed on the two lane lines and the right edge line. All materials were installed in 150-mil grooves to ensure that all traces of the old thermoplastic have been completely removed eliminating its effect on the newly installed products. The groove depth selected was the same as the transverse tines depth on the bridge decks.
The performance evaluation lasted for slightly over two years. The average daily traffic (ADT) was 42,000 for both directions. Two handheld LTL-X retroreflectometers were used for measuring retroreflectivity and one MiniScan XE Plus colorimeter was used for taking color readings. The evaluation included subjectively rating daytime color, nighttime visibility, and durability in accordance to Supplemental 1047 (dated April 18, 2008).
The performance evaluation results obtained during the periodic evaluations were compared to preselected milestone performance criteria. The service life of each marking material was predicted using different mathematical models that estimated the time required for retroreflectivity to drop to a threshold value of 150 mcd/m2/lux for white markings and 100 mcd/m2/lux for yellow markings. The service life predictions were then used to calculate the life cycle costs of the marking materials in order to determine their cost effectiveness.