D11 - ENGINEERING DIVISION

VISIBILTY DURABILITY COST

TRAFFIC STRIPES & TRAFFIC SIGNS

Traffic Signs and Stripes are one of the Most Cost-effective Means of Improving Highway Safety

The Cost of Traffic Sign Panels and Stripes is Minimal Compared to the Total Project Cost < 4%

PAINTTO

HIGH REFLECTIVE THERMO

TRAFFIC STRIPES

PAINT STRIPES

• D-11 has 4,000 lane miles

• Up until 2010 District 11 used paint stripes

• Paint Life Expectancy < 1 Year

• To maintain visibility Caltrans MTCE crew had to refresh the paint stripes on a yearly basis

• Total Yearly Cost = $3,000,000 million

Issues: Safety + Labor Cost + Material Cost

THERMOPLASTIC STRIPES

In 2009 we Started Experimenting with

THERMOPLASTIC STRIPES

HEATED-PLASTIC & REFLECTIVE BEADS

• Layer #1 heated thermo, 400-440 degrees

• Layer #2 Glass beads on top of the thermo

THERMOPLASTIC STRIPES

THERMOPLASTIC CLOSE-UP VIEW

THERMOPLASTIC STRIPES

THERMOPLASTIC TRUCK

BEADS TANK

HEATED THERMOPLASTIC

TANK

NOZZLES

THERMOPLASTIC STRIPES

SPRAY NOZZLES

THERMOPLASTIC STRIPES• D-11 Started Experimenting 2009

• Reflectivity Value: White = 250 Yellow = 150

COST PER YEAR OF SERVICE

  $ COST/LF LIFE EXPECTANCY YEARS

COST PER YEAR OF SERVICE

Paint $0.18 1 $0.18Thermoplastic $0.31 4 $0.08

IN 2010 DISTRICT-11 SWITCHED

STRIPES ALL THERMO

HIGH REFLECTIVE THERMOPLASTIC STRIPES

HIGH REFLECTIVE THERMOPLASTIC STRIPES

• D-11 Started Experimenting 2011

• Layer #1 Heated Thermoplastic Material

• Layer #2 Highly Reflective Glass Beads

• Layer #3 Standard Glass Beads

• Cost $/LF in 2011 = $0.42

• Cost $/LF in 2014 = $0.32

FINAL PRODUCT CLOSE-UP

HIGH REFLECTIVE BEADS

DRY BEADS CLOSE-UP

COIN(DIME)

STANDARD BEADS

DRY BEADS CLOSE-UP

HIGH REFLECTIVE BEADS

STANDARD BEADS

FINAL PRODUCT ENHANCED THERMO

RETROREFLECTIVITY IN (MCDM-2LX-1)

YELLOW STRIPES

RETROREFLECTIVITY COMPARISON

WHITE STRIPES

3XRETROREFLECTIVITY

RETROREFLECTIVITY COMPARISON

HIGH PERFORMANCE THERMOPLASTIC HAS:

DISTRICT-11 IS CURRENTLY USING ENHANCED THERMOPLASTIC ON ALL NEW PROJECTS

D11 - STRIPING CONCLUSION

Standard Thermo Vs

High Performance Thermo

• ALMOST THE SAME COST

• 3X TIMES THE RETROREFLECTIVITY

• HIGH VISIBILITY DURING DRY & WET WEATHER IN 2012 D-11 SWITCHED STRIPES

TO ALL HIGH REFLECTIVE THERMO

WHAT IS NEXT IN FOR STRIPING?

SIGN SHEETING

Reflectivity Durability Cost

RETROREFLECTIVE SHEETING TYPES

WHICH TYPE SHOULD WE USE?

RETROREFLECTIVITY

Retroreflectivity is defined as the light that returns to the light source

2010

CAR HEADLIGHTS OFF (Location 1)

CAR HEADLIGHTS ON (Location 1)

CAR HEADLIGHTS OFF (Location 2)

CAR HEADLIGHTS ON (Location 2)

CAR HEADLIGHTS OFF (Location 3)

CAR HEADLIGHTS ON (Location 3)

CAR HEADLIGHTS OFF (Location 4)

CAR HEADLIGHTS ON (Location 4)

RETROREFLECTIVITY / WARRANTY

D-11 REPORT

• REDUCE INFRASTRUCTURE COST

• REDUCE ELECTRICAL ENERGY COST

• INCREASE SAFETY•REDUCE MAINTENANCE COST (Bulbs, Copper Theft)

SAVINGS & BENEFITS - TYPE XI

“2015 LIGHTS OUT”

IN 2012 D-11 SWITCHED TO

TYPE XI SHEETING FOR ALL SIGNS

JULY 2014 - TYPE XI SHEETING STATEWIDE STANDARD

FOR GUIDE SIGNS

TYPE XI SHEETING A STATEWIDE STANDARD

OTHERS REASONS FOR BETTER & BRIGHTER

SIGNING & STRIPING MATERIALS

MUTCD MINIMUM MAINTAINED RETROREFLECTIVITY LEVELS

REPLACE NON-COMPLIANT WARNING AND REGULATORY SIGNS 2015REPLACE GUIDANCE AND STREET NAME SIGNS 2018

MANUAL ON UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES

NOW MORE THAN EVER WE NEED BRIGHTER SIGNING & STRIPING

ELDERLY BABY BOOMERS POPULATION IS GROWING

GROWING DRIVING POPULATION

CHOOSE WISELY