Modernizing NDOT's Pavement Marking Program for Retroreflectivity Compliance and Cost-Effective Restriping

The evaluation of pavement marking materials primarily relies on their retroreflectivity, which is the measure of how effectively markings reflect vehicle headlight illumination back toward the driver. Deciding when pavement markings need to be restriped is not straightforward because their visibility depends on retroreflectivity. Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) currently follows a pavement marking policy that is last updated over twenty years ago. The practice is based on fixed restriping frequencies (e.g., annually) determined by corridor type and traffic volume. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires all agencies to implement a pavement marking retroreflectivity maintenance method by September 6, 2026, and specifies minimum maintained retroreflectivity values of 50 mcd/m²/lx for roadways with posted speeds ≥ 35 mph and 100 mcd/m²/lx for speeds ≥ 70 mph. NDOT does not yet maintain a comprehensive or statewide pavement marking retroreflectivity dataset. Without historical measurements or geographically representative data, it cannot characterize how different marking materials deteriorate across Nebraska’s diverse traffic and climate conditions. This lack of data limits NDOT’s ability to transition from a frequency-based to a performance-based maintenance strategy that meets FHWA requirements, manages costs, and improves operational efficiency. The overall goal of this research project is to provide NDOT with a documented, MUTCD-compliant, and data-driven method for maintaining pavement marking retroreflectivity that ensures safety, regulatory compliance, and cost-effective use of maintenance resources. To achieve this goal, the project will pursue the following specific objectives: develop a Nebraska-specific hybrid maintenance method, develop a statistically sound statewide data-collection plan, develop and calibrate degradation models, and quantify expected life-cycle benefits.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Programmed
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Nebraska Department of Transportation

  1500 Nebraska 2
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68502
• Project Managers:

  Halsey, Lieska

• Principal Investigators:

  Zhao, Li

  Huynh, Nathan

  Kontar, Wissam

• Start Date: 20260701
• Expected Completion Date: 20280531
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Retroreflectivity; Road markings; Striping
• Identifier Terms: Nebraska Department of Transportation
• Geographic Terms: Nebraska
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01991715
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Nebraska Department of Transportation
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 2 2026 12:26PM