Managing Selected Transportation Assets: Signals, Lighting, Signs, Pavement Markings, Culverts, and Sidewalks

This synthesis was designed to gain a better understanding of the state of the practice for managing transportation infrastructure assets other than pavements and bridges, identify best practices, and document gaps in knowledge and areas for further study. It examines key aspects of asset management related to selected infrastructure assets (traffic signals, lighting, signs, pavement lane striping and other markings, drainage culverts and pipes, and sidewalks), including primary sources of technical guidance for management; basic approaches to budgeting for and conducting preservation, operation, and maintenance; organizational responsibilities for ongoing maintenance; measurement of asset condition and performance, including methods and frequencies of data collection; estimates of service lives (or deterioration models) for key components of the selected assets, accounting for the different materials used; information technology capabilities available to help agencies manage these selected assets; and perceptions of the transportation objectives that are served by maintaining selected assets in good condition. Information for the study was acquired through a review of U.S. and international literature and by a survey of state, provincial, county, and city transportation agencies in the United State and Canada. Follow-up communications with selected survey respondents provided additional information.