Award Date

1-1-2008

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

First Committee Member

Hualiang (Harry) Teng

Number of Pages

183

Abstract

Graffiti is an ever-growing problem that taints the environment. It costs over {dollar}12 billion per year to remove graffiti in the United States. Highway structures are accessible to the public at all hours of the day. So, there is much likelihood that these structures would be tagged. Bridges, sound walls, retaining walls and traffic signs are the major highway structures maintained by state DOT that are affected by graffiti. The present research is to evaluate the graffiti countermeasures for the highway structures in Nevada. In the evaluation process, an inventory data of graffiti cases on the major highway structures in Las Vegas and Reno is collected. The data is analyzed for finding the impact of the preventive measures, accessibility and surroundings on the amount of graffiti. In the next step, a survey is conducted to the maintenance divisions of all state DOTs for their current practice of removing and preventing graffiti. The survey results are analyzed for identifying some countermeasures from different states. Several meetings are conducted with various anti-graffiti agencies in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles to identify the countermeasures of graffiti for highway structures. Finally, a spectrum of countermeasures is collected from the results of literature review, inventory data analysis, survey and the meetings. A cost-benefit analysis of these countermeasures is conducted for finding the effectiveness of the countermeasures. The most effective countermeasures are recommended to Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT).

Keywords

Countermeasures; Evaluation; Graffiti; Highways

Controlled Subject

Civil engineering

File Format

pdf

File Size

4771.84 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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