Materials selection for structured horizontal road markings: financial and environmental case studies

Abstract

Introduction: On majority of roads, horizontal road markings are essential safety feature that must be periodically renewed to maintain appropriate performance. Results: The use of a premium road marking system resulted in prolonged the service life as compared to a standard system, which would be financially-neutral in the long term despite much higher unit and initial costs; advantageously, 54% less glass beads and 63% less paint would be required over 10-year life cycle. When these products usage savings are recalculated into raw materials consumption, the premium system would demand about 21% more of titanium dioxide, but that would be offset by approximately 25% reduction in the consumption of acrylic resin and circa 97% reduction in organic solvents usage and emissions. Conclusions: The results from this analysis can be used by road administrators to select the best systems, by policy makers seeking minimisation of environmental impacts, and by contractors who won performance tenders.