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NATIONAL
NCHRP SYNTHESIS 380
COOPERATIVE
HIGHWAY
RESEARCH
PROGRAM
Applications of Illuminated, Active,
In-Pavement Marker Systems
A Synthesis of Highway Practice
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TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2008 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*
OFFICERS
Chair: Debra L. Miller, Secretary, Kansas DOT, Topeka
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WILLIAM A.V. CLARK, Professor, Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles
DAVID S. EKERN, Commissioner, Virginia DOT, Richmond
NICHOLAS J. GARBER, Henry L. Kinnier Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
JEFFREY W. HAMIEL, Executive Director, Metropolitan Airports Commission, Minneapolis, MN
EDWARD A. (NED) HELME, President, Center for Clean Air Policy, Washington, DC
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EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
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EDWARD R. HAMBERGER, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads, Washington, DC
JOHN H. HILL, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator, U.S.DOT
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Washington, DC
*Membership as of May 2008.
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NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
NCHRP SYNTHESIS 380
Applications of Illuminated, Active,
In-Pavement Marker Systems
A Synthesis of Highway Practice
CONSULTANTS
JODI L. CARSON
Texas Transportation Institute
Austin, Texas
JONATHAN TYDLACKA
LORI STEVENS GRAY
and
ANTHONY P. VOIGT
Texas Transportation Institute
Houston, Texas
S UBJECT A REAS
Highway Operations, Capacity, and Traffic Control and Safety and Human Performance
Research Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
in Cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
WASHINGTON, D.C.
2008
www.TRB.org
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NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM NCHRP SYNTHESIS 380
Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective Project 20-5 (Topic 38-13)
approach to the solution of many problems facing highway ISSN 0547-5570
administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local ISBN 978-0-309-09808-3
interest and can best be studied by highway departments Library of Congress Control No. 2008925357
individually or in cooperation with their state universities and © 2008 Transportation Research Board
others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation
develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to
highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a
COPYRIGHT PERMISSION
coordinated program of cooperative research.
In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for
American Association of State Highway and Transportation obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the
Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
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supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating
Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be
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NCHRP COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT 20-5 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS STAFF
CHRISTOPHER W. JENKS, Director, Cooperative Research
CHAIR Programs
CATHERINE NELSON, Oregon DOT CRAWFORD F. JENCKS, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research
Programs
MEMBERS NANDA SRINIVASAN, Senior Program Officer
KATHLEEN S. AMES, Illinois DOT EILEEN DELANEY, Director of Publications
STUART D. ANDERSON, Texas A&M University
CYNTHIA J. BURBANK, PB Americas, Inc. NCHRP SYNTHESIS STAFF
LISA FREESE, Scoot County (MN) Public Works Division STEPHEN R. GODWIN, Director for Studies and Special Programs
MALCOLM T. KERLEY, Virginia DOT JON M. WILLIAMS, Associate Director, IDEA and Synthesis Studies
RICHARD D. LAND, California DOT GAIL STABA, Senior Program Officer
JAMES W. MARCH, Federal Highway Administration DONNA L. VLASAK, Senior Program Officer
MARK A. MAREK, Texas DOT DON TIPPMAN, Editor
JOHN M. MASON, JR., Auburn University CHERYL KEITH, Senior Program Assistant
ANANTH PRASAD, HNTB Corporation
ROBERT L. SACK, New York State DOT TOPIC PANEL
FRANCINE SHAW-WHITSON, Federal Highway Administration BRIAN E. CHANDLER, Missouri Department of Transportation
LARRY VELASQUEZ, New Mexico DOT RICHARD A. CUNARD, Transportation Research Board
BOB GARBACZ, Alexandria Department of Transportation and
FHWA LIAISON Environmental Services
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State University
TRB LIAISON NICHOLAS HARRIS, Metropolitan Transit Authority of
STEPHEN F. MAHER Harris County (TX)
DONALD E. HOWE, California Department of Transportation
DAVID C. WOODIN, New York State Department of Transportation
CARL ANDERSON, Federal Highway Administration (Liaison)
DEBRA CHAPPELL, Federal Highway Administration (Liaison)
Cover: Lighted pavement markers delineating no entry into a left-turn
lane, southbound Fannin Street at Dryden Street, Houston, Texas.
Implementing agency: The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris
County (METRO).
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FOREWORD Highway administrators, engineers, and researchers often face problems for which infor-
By Staff mation already exists, either in documented form or as undocumented experience and prac-
Transportation tice. This information may be fragmented, scattered, and unevaluated. As a consequence,
Research Board full knowledge of what has been learned about a problem may not be brought to bear on its
solution. Costly research findings may go unused, valuable experience may be overlooked,
and due consideration may not be given to recommended practices for solving or alleviat-
ing the problem.
There is information on nearly every subject of concern to highway administrators and
engineers. Much of it derives from research or from the work of practitioners faced with
problems in their day-to-day work. To provide a systematic means for assembling and eval-
uating such useful information and to make it available to the entire highway community,
the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials--through the
mechanism of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program--authorized the
Transportation Research Board to undertake a continuing study. This study, NCHRP Proj-
ect 20-5, "Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Problems," searches out and syn-
thesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented
reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute an NCHRP report series,
Synthesis of Highway Practice.
This synthesis series reports on current knowledge and practice, in a compact format,
without the detailed directions usually found in handbooks or design manuals. Each report
in the series provides a compendium of the best knowledge available on those measures
found to be the most successful in resolving specific problems.
PREFACE Illuminated, active, in-pavement marker systems (IPMs) can provide a greater level of
By Jon M. Williams information to road users than conventional pavement marker systems. Traditionally, IPMs
Program Director have been used for airport runways and taxiways, and pedestrian crosswalks. More recently,
Transportation IPMs have been applied in numerous traffic guidance applications. This report documents
Research Board (1) the state of IPM technology, (2) notable experiences with historical IPM applications,
(3) detailed experiences with more recent IPM applications, and (4) IPM research needs.
The report will be of particular interest to the traffic and safety engineering community.
Information for this report was obtained through a review of published literature, a for-
mal survey of transportation practitioners, an informal survey of IPM vendors and users,
and follow-up interviews.
The consultants, Anthony Voigt, Jodi Carson, Jonathan Tydlacka, and Lori Stevens Gray
of the Texas Transportation Institute, collected and synthesized the information and wrote
the report. The members of the topic panel are acknowledged on the preceding page. This
synthesis is an immediately useful document that records the practices that were acceptable
within the limitations of the knowledge available at the time of its preparation. As progress
in research and practice continues, new knowledge will be added to that now at hand.
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CONTENTS
1 SUMMARY
7 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Problem Statement, 7
Objectives, 7
Methodology, 7
Report Organization, 8
9 CHAPTER TWO STATE OF THE TECHNOLOGY
Technology Characteristics, 9
Standards and Guidelines for Use, 13
Historical Applications, 16
19 CHAPTER THREE APPLICATIONS OF IN-PAVEMENT
MARKER TECHNOLOGY
Warning, 19
Guidance, 26
Regulation, 31
Illumination, 36
Conceptual Applications, 38
39 CHAPTER FOUR CONCLUSIONS
Summary of Key Findings, 39
Suggestions, 42
44 REFERENCES
46 GLOSSARY
47 APPENDIX A SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
70 APPENDIX B SURVEY RESPONDENTS
72 APPENDIX C IN-PAVEMENT LIGHTING SYSTEM VENDORS
CONTACTED FOR THIS SYNTHESIS
