Kansas DOT's Automated Restriping System and Maintenance Fees Estimated to Cost $906,600 for 30 Years.

Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) currently deploys a striping truck, a control truck, and a bead truck for the restriping process, which is crucial for the upkeep of pavement markings. In the current operation scheme, these three non-automated trucks collaborate to complete the restriping process, thus requiring substantial human labor. To reduce the manpower required to complete the restriping process, KDOT sought an automated pavement restriping system that is efficient and accurate and can provide the same quality and accuracy as the current manual striping system. The proposed automated restriping system can automatically operate the carriage, paint, and glass bead guns using industrial cameras to target the roadway markings and an additional control system to precisely position the paint carriage and nozzle array over the original roadway marking. The implementation of this automated system reduces the paint crew size by one and significantly reduces crew labor. This study examined the potential financial advantages of deploying such an automated system through a benefit-and-cost analysis. 

The proposed scheme consists of an automated restriping system and a dual carriage recording and layout system. The automated restriping system costs $141,000 and has a life cycle of 15 years, while the dual carriage recording and layout system costs $126,000 and has a 10-year life cycle. This two-part scheme also has an additional annual cost of $8,640, including cell data service, GPS correction service, and data maintenance. 

The total cost for buying an automated restriping system and maintenance fees for the next 30 years was calculated to be $906,600.