Blyncsy, a Bentley Systems company, has released a public map of United States public roads rated at 35 miles per hour and faster, along with paint retro-reflectivity scores for roads within all 50 state capitals. This new tool is available to support all state and local departments of transportation as they prepare to meet new Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) minimum levels of retro-reflectivity for pavement markings, which will go into effect in 2026. Using its nationwide network of crowdsourced imagery and AI, Blyncsy was able to capture over 3,200 centreline miles of paint retro-reflectivity detections in just four days.
In 2022, the FHWA released a final rule to update the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) that establishes minimum retro-reflectivity levels for longitudinal pavement markings on all roads open to public travel with speed limits of 35 mph or greater. The final rule requires applicable agencies or officials to implement a method for maintaining pavement marking retro-reflectivity at or above minimum levels. States and counties must adopt a method for maintaining pavement marking retro-reflectivity by September 2026.
Mike Schellhase, VP of Asset Analytics for Bentley Systems, said: “With this new technology from Blyncsy, we’re now able to support every state in building and maintaining a safer and more equitable road network. It’s exciting to be able to share this data with agencies looking for cost-effective and forward-thinking ways to meet the new federal minimum standards.”
Blyncsy leverages the power of artificial intelligence and crowdsourced visual imagery to provide automated roadway condition and asset inventory assessments. This technology collects street-level imagery from over 800,000 vehicles nationwide and assesses the condition of assets in the images in as little as 60 seconds of a vehicle passing. Blyncsy uses AI to detect and assess the condition of roadway features such as paint line visibility, allowing local and state governments to access the data needed for roadway striping operations and federal reporting requirements. This technology reduces the costs and burdens for paint line inspections by over 90% and supports safer driving for human and automated drivers.
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