INFRASTRUCTURE |
Road pavement marking maintenance – the smart way With global material shortages and budgetary constraints, as well as the challenges created by ADAS and connected autonomous vehicle (CAV) developments, there is a real need to use the latest innovations in road marking condition surveys to prioritize maintenance Words | Joe Turley, CEO, Reflective Measurement Systems, Ireland
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he lesson to ‘measure twice, cut once’ is instilled in every joiner to minimize material waste and maximize productivity. In the current environment, with material shortages and long lead times on certain supplies, it is perhaps a lesson that road authorities and the road maintenance industry now need to consider. The cost of replacing and renewing road markings is increasing, yet the need for road marking maintenance has not abated. If anything, the introduction of ‘lane keep assist’/’lane departure warnings’ and a future involving connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) has increased pressure on improving the quality of road markings. These combined with road traffic accidents and the natural degradation of markings due to environmental conditions means it is an endless programme of road maintenance for all road authorities. With limited budgets, how do you ensure you spend that maintenance budget where it really matters? The solution lies in measurement and gathering accurate data through road marking condition surveys by industry certified equipment.
Above: RetroTek-D mobile retroreflectometer on survey vehicle
Reducing survey costs
Reflective Measurement Systems is leading the way in the measurement field. The company has produced
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Intertraffic World | Annual Showcase 2022
technological innovations for day and night retroreflectivity assessments, as well as line contrast measurements for both dry and wet conditions, which is necessary for the safe operation of vehicles with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). The RetroTek-D mobile frontmounted retroreflectometer plays a key role in increasing the productivity of road surveys. It simultaneously records full-lane measurements on road markings to the left and right of the survey vehicle, as well as road studs (RPMs) and critical central road markings
(such as arrows, stop lines and chevrons) in one survey pass. This system performs continuous measurements on the whole of the road marking, not just a small section or at regular intervals. All of this is achieved with the same level of accuracy and repeatability as handheld retroreflectometers, but without the need for lane closures and traffic management. On a section of threelane motorway, both sides/directions of the road can be surveyed in four survey runs, (two in each direction), compared to the eight runs a single side-mounted retroreflectometer
