In July, August, and September 2002, the Texas Transportation Institute, as part of a contract with the Federal Highway Administration, conducted four workshops on sign retroreflectivity for the FHWA. The purpose of the workshops was to present the latest information on the FHWA's efforts to develop minimum sign retroreflectivity and visibility guidelines and to solicit input from public agency personnel regarding how the FHWA should proceed with rulemaking.

Workshops were held in the following cities:

Denver, CO - July 10-11, 2002

Hudson, WI - August 13-14, 2002

College Station, TX - August 21-22, 2002

Hanover, MD - September 4-5, 2002

Each workshop was one-day long. During the first half-day, the facilitators presented information on the following topics:

Background

Visibility Concepts

In-Service Retroreflectivity Values

Implementation Options

These presentations were followed by a nighttime demonstration of sign retroreflectivity. The second half-day was devoted to open discussion and developing recommended MUTCD language related to minimum sign retroreflectivity.

Each participant was provided with several handouts of materials. The final version (as presented at the Hanover workshop) of these handouts can be downloaded below.

Presentation Materials - This is the handout of the slides used in presenting the information.

Presentation Slides - These are the individual slides used in the presentations.

Background Information - This is the handout containing background information related to the presentation materials.

MUTCD language - This is the recommended MUTCD language developed by each workshop. There are four versions of recommended MUTCD language.

Final Report This is the workshop report prepared by TTI and submitted to FHWA for publication.

Developing Updated Minimum In-Service Retroreflectivity Values for Traffic Signs, Carlson, Hawkins, Schertz, Mace, and Opiela. This is a TRB paper that describes the research that was conducted in order to update the minimum retroreflectivity levels for traffic signs. The draft final report has been submitted to FHWA and is under review.