Criteria For Maintenance Of Multilane Highways

The establishment of proper maintenance standards is a critical and complex challenge to the highway administrator and engineer. Interrelationships exist between the various needs to: protect the highway structure; make optimum use of the available facility; provide safe, convenient, and pleasant service to the user; and make the highway a compatible part of the environment. The criteria established by this report: (1) Outline standards of good maintenance for multilane highways; (2) suggest methods of evaluating maintenance practices and procedures; (3) promote a uniformly high level of maintenance; and (4) foster improvements in the quality and applicability of personnel, equipment, materials, and methods used in maintenance programs. Standards are proposed for four classifications of multilane highways. Standards for physical maintenance are outlined for pavements, structures, guardrail, median barriers, signs, light standards, shoulders, slopes, and drainage systems. Standards for traffic services are outlined for snow and ice control, management of vegetation, litter removal, shoulder and bridge deck cleaning, traffic sign cleaning and renewal, lamp cleaning and replacement, delineator cleaning and replacement, pavement striping, and marking and emergency services.