Warm, dry weather means paint trucks are busy on county roads, striping lines and attaching reflectors that are faded and worn.
“Painted lines are an important part of road safety and provide drivers with directions as well as lane positioning and passing information,” says Traffic Operations Crew Chief Bryan Shira. Lines are painted each year to make sure they are visible. Buttons, or raised reflectors are also added to the roadway to increase lane visibility.
When paint trucks are in your neighborhood this summer, drive slowly and do not pass. You not only risk getting paint on your vehicle, but you will also remove the reflective beads that make lines visible at night. If the paint looks bright, stay off the lines. Paint can only be applied when the road is dry, which is why work is done in summer months.
County crews stripe main roads every year and secondary roads every 3-4 years to keep the lanes visible day and night. Right now, Public Works has 26,000 gallons of paint on hand which will cover 670 roadway miles.
Last year, due to material shortages, crews prioritized 100 miles of roads that were in the most need of fresh striping and applied buttons to make up the difference. The roads that were not painted last year but were in rotation for their fresh stripes are scheduled for striping this year.
This work is part of the ongoing maintenance county staff do to make sure roads are safe and to protect the community’s investment in their roads. Crews will also be on several county roads applying chip seal treatments this summer. If you want to know where and when work is happening follow us on
Twitter and check our
summer road work web page.