TEST PERFORMANCE OF THERMOPLASTIC MARKINGS ON NEW YORK CONCRETE PAVEMENTS

Thermoplastic centerline markings were installed at 25 sites on portland cement concrete pavement throughout New York State to evaluate their performance under various pavement and weather conditions, and to identify factors affecting their performance. Their durability was highly variable and generally poor, with only five sites in good condition after 4 years. Most failures were related to winter weather, with about 80 percent of those observed occurring during winter months. Higher snowfall resulted in higher failure rates, on the average, although some sites performed well in high snowfall areas, and some did poorly in low snowfall areas. The specification requiring a 4- to 5-mil epoxy primer, with the thermoplastic applied when the primer is in a tacky state, appears satisfactory. Lesser or greater primer thicknesses and thermoplastic applied over wet or dry primer, generally resulted in poorer performance. Differences in traffic volumes had no apparent effect on performance, but strips in locations subjected to heavy cross-traffic (such as intersections and passing zones) displayed accelerated failures due to abrasion. Strips applied over very smooth textured pavement surfaces failed more rapidly than those applied over rougher textures. Effects on performance of several other factors could not be determined, including pavement age, length of time the material was held at application temperature, direction of stripe application relative to traffic, presence of moisture in the pavement, and dust on the pavement.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by and prepared in cooperation with DOT, Federal Highway Administration.
• Corporate Authors:

  New York State Department of Transportation

  Engineering Research and Development Bureau, 1220 Washington Avenue
  Albany, NY  United States  12232
• Authors:
  • McNaught, E D
  • Capelli, J T
  • Gurney, G F
• Publication Date: 1977-3

Media Info

• Pagination: 29 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aquifers; Center lines; Concrete pavements; Durability; Pavement performance; Portland cement concrete; Road markings; Snow; Thermoplastic materials; Traffic volume
• Old TRIS Terms: Traffic marking
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00158068
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: NYSDOT-ERD-77-RR 37,, Interim Report
• Contract Numbers: HPR FCP 41I1-045
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Oct 13 2003 12:00AM