Comparison of Designs of Field Test Decks for Pavement Marking Materials

Historically, pavement marking materials (PMMs) have been prequalified or selected mainly on the basis of product specifications and lab testing, which do not always correlate well with the field performance of the products. Although different configurations of field test decks exist for assessing the performance of markings, no consensus exists on the optimal design. This study evaluated test deck designs for PMMs on the basis of field performance and focused on a comparison of transverse line and long line design. Field decks were designed incorporating regular long lines and long lines in the travel lane together with transverse stripes for accelerated testing, and several installation procedures were taken into consideration. Three test sites in Texas were used for data collection and analysis. The relationships between transverse and longitudinal test decks were evaluated with correlation analyses of retroreflectivity values. The results indicated that the points on transverse lines had high correlation with the corresponding five or seven longitudinal long lines in the travel lane when the retroreflectivity values of all products on a test deck were averaged. For individual products, the correlations between transverse line locations and corresponding long lines in the travel lane were not consistently high for all PMMs.