Sign Retroreflectivity Compliance

 

***UPDATE September 6, 2011***
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has proposed a change to the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) that affects the preparations for meeting retroreflectivity compliance that you likely have underway right now.

 

The proposed changes, which won't be revised or adopted until sometime after October 31st, 2011, seek to eliminate the economic burden created by the requirement to replace selected regulatory, warning, and guide signs by the respective 2015 and 2018 deadlines (Section 2A and Table 2A-3 of the MN MUTCD).

 

Because these changes are still in the proposal phase, the requirement to Implement a method of compliance and it's impending deadline of January 22, 2012, have not yet been changed. This deadline does not require communities to begin replacing signs, but it does require communities to identify and implement a method for maintaining retroreflectivity compliance.

 

The proposed rule changes, as of this writing, do not eliminate the need for managing retroreflectivity and safety in regulatory, warning, and guide signs. It does however push back the deadline for implementing a compliance method to a later date, possibly sometime in 2013 or 2014. The deadlines provided by the rule, in its current unmodified form, that require replacement of selected non compliant signs by 2015 and 2018, ARE PROPOSED to be eliminated.

 

For communities that had planned to replace large numbers of signs by those deadlines, the adoption of this change would be a welcome relief. If you have already established an ordinance or council resolution to manage retroreflectivity compliance that included deadlines for sign replacement you might consider modifying it once the changes have been adopted in final form. As of this writing no additional guidance has been provided by the League of Minnesota Cities.

 

Once any changes have been adopted into the Federal MUTCD, The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) will determine if they will immediately revise and/or incorporate those changes the Minnesota MUTCD, which is the governing document for signs in the State of Minnesota. Early indications are that this would likely happen quickly, so that Minnesota Communities might enjoy the benefits of the revised rule.

 

Revisit this website to stay informed as the rule is revised and adopted, and we will continue to strive to be a resource on this topic.

 

Feel free to contact us for more information or to be notified of changes.

Official USDOT announcement

FHWA announcement

Federal Register Details

Actual Redline Changes in Proposed MUTCD Rules

 

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Requirements
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has established new safety requirements that affect most street and traffic signs on roads open to the public. This rule provides new guidelines regarding the visibility of signs at night.

 

Retroreflectivity is the measurement of how much light a sign or sign material reflects back towards the light source – a high retroreflectivity equates to a high amount of light reflected, and a sign that’s  easier for drivers to see.  Table 2A-3 (see below) are the minimum values of retroreflectivity, from the FHWA Rule, which differ by sign color, type, and size.

 

Key Compliance Dates

(See September 6, 2011 Update above)

January 22, 2012 – Identify and Implement a method of
maintaining Minimum Retroreflectivity

January 22, 2015 – Replace identified regulatory, warning, and
ground-mounted guide signs

January 22, 2018 – Replace identified street name and
overhead guide signs

Proposed Schedule

Retroreflectivity is an unfunded mandate
Be proactive, not reactive

• Budget in 2011
• Begin assessment/management in 2011/2012
• Plan sign replacements in 2012-2015 and 2012-2018 periods,
  
• and continued compliance beyond that

 

Budgeting and Planning as early as possible spreads the total cost of replacement
over the time between now and 2015/2018 helping lower any budget shock

 

Compliance Methods

The Rule has laid out Methods for Managing or Assessing signs to
maintain minimum retroreflectivity:

• Assessment
• Visual Night Time Inspection
• Measured sign Retroreflectivity
• Management
• Blanket replacement
• Control signs
• Expected sign life
• Combination of Methods
• Other Methods based on Engineering Study
• Methods continue compliance past the 2015-2018 deadlines

Path to Compliance

Establish a written policy that MATCHES what you plan to do. Following your policy without deviation is how the rule protects you from liability

Implementation by Jan 2012 has been interpreted by MN DOT and the Local Technical Assistance Program (U of M LTAP) to be a recorded written policy established by ordinance, council resolution, employee manual or otherwise.

 

Bolton & Menk has experience preparing and implementing multiple types and combinations of sign management and assessment programs to achieve compliance. The right method is one that tailors to your community's size of sign population, strengths, and abilities; utilizing any and all information you may have on your signs. We perform an inventory where one is needed, ranging from an accurate GPS sign location or measurement with our Roadvista 922 Retroreflectometer, to mapping the locations and types of existing signs. Some communities may find a simple replacement plan to be just as easy and cost effective as managing individual signs may be for a larger community. Our capabilities include bringing your sign database into the Cartegraph Asset Management suite, and using or providing reports on your existing signs as well as predicting the end of life for those signs. We can leverage existing sign inventory programs such as Simple Signs© or Rural Sign Management Systems© and import them into Cartegraph to perform end of life prediction. Bolton & Menk can assist in indentifying the most efficient and cost effective method for your community.

 

 

 

 

Expected Sign Life

 

 

 

Sample Report Screen