The Federal Highway Administration requires agencies to track and maintain their traffic control signs according to current standards for retroreflectivity. In order to comply with the mandate, the Town of Brownsburg sought to conduct a sign inventory of all existing traffic control signage. Shrewsberry was responsible for overseeing the inventory and preparing contract documents for the replacement of signs to meet current standards.
Mobile LiDAR was used to inventory the existing signs. The study area consisted of the entire town, approximately 163 centerline miles, and the resulting data included over 4,400 signs. A supplemental data collection effort included elements that mobile LiDAR are not capable of collecting, such as sign condition, support condition, date installed, and sign sheeting type.
Each sign was reviewed for compliance with MUTCD standards and a pass/fail designation was added to the sign inventory database. The sign inventory was reviewed for logical omissions, such as intersections without traffic control devices or single warning signs that are typically installed in pairs. Inventoried signs were reviewed against LPA stop control and parking ordinances for discrepancies. GIS exhibits were prepared to easily identify the locations and types of signs. A report was provided to the town that detailed locations where the posted signs did not agree with prevailing ordinances.
Regulatory and warning signs are eligible for replacement with federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds. Those signs that did not comply with current standards were identified and slated for replacement.
Construction plans were prepared with maps of sign locations and tables listing replacement status, sizes, materials and installation notes, and submitted according to INDOT’s process. Construction letting is scheduled for 2016.