Dynamic Planning of Vertical Road Signs Maintenance: Operational Methodology

This article is the first of two papers on a topic gaining ground in traffic and transport engineering, namely Dynamic Planning of Vertical Road Signs Maintenance. In particular, this first paper describes the methodologies used in determining the current state, the position, the type, the state of conservation and the efficiency of vertical road signs in the city of Forte dei Marmi (Tuscany, Italy). The ultimate goal is to set up a dynamic GIS-based road vertical signs archive and subsequently develop a forecast model. Such an operational procedure can be seen as a useful tool for setting up a Dynamic Maintenance Plan for all vertical signs along the roads of the municipal area. The methodology followed is the following: once the area of interest has been defined, the retroreflection parameter of the 752 vertical signs present in the area was measured using a retroreflectometer, recording the georeferenced data in a specific GIS database. This hands-on approach allows for both adding and removing a given sign, as well as sorting all monitored signs by age and efficiency in a dynamic operational maintenance view. Hence, the development of the forecasting model has been done, however, for this part reference should be made to the second paper. In the final part of this article, the concluding chapter relating to the creation of a dynamic maintenance plan and the conclusions on the methodology used and on possible ideas for further research developments have been included.