NYS Thruway first superhighway to use reflective technology

[Michael]

Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The State is beginning to replace painted lines with reflective strips along the Thruway to help drivers see at night and in bad weather. Some areas are already upgraded and long stretches in Central New York will be changed starting in 2012.

http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/NYS-Thruway-first-superhighway-to-use-reflective/BJSVobmnoE6A49jmjouIEw.cspx

As of this post, the WSYR site has no video, but there was a major difference when I saw the report on T.V.
EDIT: There is now a video on the article page

This article from the Albany Times Union has more technical details.

[vdeane]

That explains why the portions of the exits 39-40 reconstruction zone that are done still don't have permanent striping.  They'll probably get reflective strips in late summer/early fall.

[Duke87]

I... do not think this is a good idea. You reach a point where you make things so reflective and glow so much that it causes too much contrast and makes it difficult to see things which aren't reflectivized.
Besides, has anyone really ever had a problem seeing lane lines in the dark? They're white and yellow. The pavement is black. It's pretty difficult to mix them up. Okay, yes, so concrete pavement doesn't provide the same contrast but it also has that problem during the day.

Though, at least we don't have to worry about pavement markings washing out and becoming illegible when headlights (or the sun) shine on them like signs do.

[JREwing78]

Besides, has anyone really ever had a problem seeing lane lines in the dark? They're white and yellow. The pavement is black. It's pretty difficult to mix them up.

In the dark? No.

In the rain in the dark? Yes, absolutely! In fact, I ended up forced off I-270 onto an off-ramp in Columbus one dark and stormy evening because I couldn't see the lines in the road.

[vdeane]

Besides, has anyone really ever had a problem seeing lane lines in the dark? They're white and yellow. The pavement is black. It's pretty difficult to mix them up.

Have you ever driven at night when it's pouring rain out, especially on a newly resurfaced road?

[Duke87]

Point taken on rain.

Eh, maybe I should withhold judgment until I see this stuff in action.

[Michael]

You reach a point where you make things so reflective and glow so much that it causes too much contrast and makes it difficult to see things which aren't reflectivized.

I was driving on the Thruway through the reconstruction between exits 39 and 40 (at night), and there were reflective strips of tape on the Jersey barriers, and it was very distracting in my opinion.  I'd guess they were a foot or two long, with about two feet between each one.

[Revive 755]

I wonder if this method is better than using reflective tape in groves as MoDOT had been doing.

[Mergingtraffic]

wont the plows peel this stuff up like everything else? 

[vdeane]

I was driving on the Thruway through the reconstruction between exits 39 and 40 (at night), and there were reflective strips of tape on the Jersey barriers, and it was very distracting in my opinion.  I'd guess they were a foot or two long, with about two feet between each one.

It probably was necessary to have them on the barriers though, considering that there's no shoulder in the reconstruction zones (except for the sections that have areas built in for police cars to sit in to enforce the 55mph speed limit).

[DRMan]

In NH, I have seen something similar to what the Times-Union article describes.  I couldn't say whether they used the same product the Thruway is using or if it's just paint.  A quick look at the NH DOT website didn't yield any info.  It does seem more visible at night, especially when it's wet.  This is on NH 101 just east of I-95, at the end of the divided section.

EDIT:  I just watched the video, and I'm now pretty sure NH is not using the same technology.  What I saw looks more like painted grooves.

[Michael]

It probably was necessary to have them on the barriers though, considering that there's no shoulder in the reconstruction zones (except for the sections that have areas built in for police cars to sit in to enforce the 55mph speed limit).

I would have preferred to see delineators attached to the barriers.  The road surface had stripes right next to the barriers.

[vdeane]

Not on the left.  Here's a photo for reference:


For those that have never seen the area during construction: yes, the temporary right lane was really in the left shoulder of the other direction.

[Michael]

When I was there, the westbound lanes had all the traffic.  There's that annoying tape.  And that exit sign looks hideous.  I might go as far to say I'd prefer Clearview.

As an aside, I wonder if it would have been any better to use one set of lanes as a super-2 as opposed to a narrow two-lane freeway in each direction.  I'm not sure about the AADT counts for that area.

[xcellntbuy]

I have not driven west of Syracuse on the Thruway since 1983, but that long stretch from Exits 39 to 40 is, if I remember correctly, flat, largely straight and in a swamp.  The reflectorized markings may be necessary due to foggy conditions.

And, I agree, that Exit 40 signage is God-awful.

[Quillz]

It sounds like a good idea to me.

[Ian]

That still looks wider than the Schuylkill Expressway 

[Michael]

I took a look at the latest Traffic Data Report (2009), and the 2009 AADT was 34,320.  Most local two lane roads had an AADT of about 15,000 at the most.  I wasn't sure if the AADT would be in NYSDOT's report because it's the Thruway.

@xcellntbuy
You may be thinking about the portion between exits 40 and 41 through the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.  The two miles or so through the refuge are a boring drive.  I don't recall seeing excessive fog there before.

@PennDOTFan
It wasn't fun to drive at all.

[cu2010]

You may be thinking about the portion between exits 40 and 41 through the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.  The two miles or so through the refuge are a boring drive.  I don't recall seeing excessive fog there before.

The whole damn Thruway is a pretty boring drive! Precisely why, on my last trip north, I avoided the Thruway and took old US104 instead   (And I've driven that section between exits 39 and 40 several times since the construction started...scary as hell, especially when other cars are zooming past you in the narrow left lane doing well over the posted 55mph speed limit...)

As for the reflectors...on one hand, it could actually legitimately aid drivers, especially since the paint on newly-repaved roads here in NY seems to fade away after one winter's worth of plowing (leaving them barely visible, especially at night, until they repaint them in July or so). On the other hand, it seems like an incredible waste of money...

[Alps]

In NJ, permanent road stripes have to use the glass beads in the paint material.  So the Thruway may be the first freeway to use This Specific Technology, but glass beads have been around for decades making sure you can see in the rain.

[J N Winkler]

Yes, I didn't really believe glass beads were the innovation.  I think it has more to do with obtaining some of the benefits of patterned cold plastic (including a contoured surface that resists complete coverage by water film) for a cost closer to that of thermoplastic.  It is really hard to tell from the newspaper articles, which are very vague.

[Scott5114]

Besides, has anyone really ever had a problem seeing lane lines in the dark?

I do, all the time, but that's because ODOT is shit and uses road paint that's barely reflective.