SUDAS

Iowa Statewide Urban Design and Specifications

SUDAS|Research|In-Progress

Investigating Surface Applied Pavement Marking Glass Bead Packages

Project Details
STATUS

In-Progress

START DATE

07/16/25

END DATE

10/31/28

FOCUS AREAS

Safety

RESEARCH CENTERS InTrans, CTRE
SPONSORS

Minnesota Department of Transportation

Researchers
Principal Investigator
Neal Hawkins

Director Research Administration, ISU

Co-Principal Investigator
Omar Smadi

Director, CTRE

About the research

Minnesota road users experience two standards of pavement marking retroreflectivity on the same roadway. Contractors for new construction must use high-performing glass beads to meet retroreflectivity requirements. In contrast, Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) crews use standard Type I glass beads, which are lower in cost but provide less retroreflectivity. This project aims to improve pavement marking visibility by demonstrating and selecting higher-performing glass beads for use by MnDOT crews statewide.

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