COLORADO'S REFLECTIVE BEAD STUDY

EVALUATION OF A NEW TYPE OF TRAFFIC BEADS BY THE COLORADO DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS SHOWS THAT SMALL UNIFORMLY-GRADED BEADS, WHICH HAVE THE PROPERTY OF BEING ABLE TO FLOAT ON A XYLOL SOLUTION, ARE SUPERIOR IN BOTH BRIGHTNESS AND DURABILITY TO THE TRAFFIC BEADS THAT THE STATE HAD BEEN USING. THE DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS ESTIMATES THAT THE PURCHASE OF THESE BEADS SAVED THE STATE APPROXIMATELY $50,000 DURING THE 1968-68 TRAFFIC STRIPING SEASON. THE NEW PRODUCT COSTS APPROXIMATELY TWO CENTS PER POUND MORE THAN THE OLD PRODUCT. HOWEVER, EVALUATION SHOWED THAT THE NEW PRODUCT, WHEN PLACED AT THE RATE OF FOUR POUNDS OF BEADS PER GALLON OF PAINT, WAS BRIGHTER AND MORE DURABLE OVER THE TEN-MONTH TESTING PERIOD THAN THE OLD PRODUCT PLACED AT A RATE OF SIX POUNDS OF BEADS PER GALLON OF PAINT. HENCE, ONLY TWO-THIRDS THE QUANTITY OF THE NEW PRODUCT IS REQUIRED. /AUTHOR/

• Corporate Authors:

  Colorado Department of Highways

  4201 East Arkansas Avenue
  Denver, CO  United States  80222
• Publication Date: 1968-11

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Brightness; Costs; Durability; Evaluation; Glass beads; Highway delineators; Highway design; Road marking materials
• Uncontrolled Terms: Comparative analysis
• Old TRIS Terms: Highway delineation; Reflective beads; Traffic marking materials
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00220398
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 5 pp
• Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: May 26 1994 12:00AM