This synthesis will be of interest to traffic engineers, maintenance managers, sign shop supervisors, and others interested in the maintenance of street and highway signs. Detailed information is presented on the current practices of state and local governments in managing the maintenance of street and highway signs within their jurisdictions. The maintenance of street and highway signs is viewed as a means for improving the effectiveness of a signing system. This report of the Transportation Research Board describes the maintenance practices of several state and local highway agencies along with the rationale for those practices. It covers inspection, refurbishing, and replacement practices, along with information on equipment and personnel requirements.

The ability to predict coefficient of retroreflection (RA) values for inservice traffic signs is critical for the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Sign Management System (SMS). Within the SMS, tools for predicting inservice retroreflective performance of traffic signs and for determining the motorist's visual needs are required. The research which focuses on the motorist's needs in terms of traffic sign luminance, legibility distance, conspicuity, etc., is on-going by others. The project reported on here evaluated the effects of climatological and geographic variables on sign sheeting deterioration. A national data collection effort was undertaken. Data samples from 6,275 traffic signs were collected across the country.