Date:  Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Contact: Broch Bender, WSDOT Communications, (206) 440-4455 (Seattle), cell (206) 437-6314

SEATTLE – WSDOT crews are already preparing for next winter as they kick-off striping season this week.

Crews will spend the next six months re-striping more than 4,500 miles on dozens of highways around the Puget Sound area between the King/Pierce county line and the U.S./Canadian border. The fresh coat of reflective paint that crews apply during spring, summer and fall months will make it easier for drivers to see the road when winter rains return.

“Next to snow and ice removal, striping is our top safety priority,” said Jerry Althauser, WSDOT Superintendent for Traffic Maintenance and Operations. “Each gallon of paint contains thousands of tiny glass reflector beads to help increase visibility in dark rainy conditions.”

Althauser reminds drivers to give striping crews plenty of room and to watch for the “wet paint” signs on Puget Sound highways. Drivers who cross wet paint when signs warning about wet paint are present won’t be eligible for reimbursement through the WSDOT claims process. Althauser advises drivers to wash the paint off as quickly as possible. For more information visit the 2008 Striping season Web page at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Northwest/striping/default.htm.

Besides possible damage to your vehicle, driving too close to striping trucks could damage the stripes. Although WSDOT uses fast drying, water-based paint, driving over fresh stripes or changing lanes when following a striping crew removes the reflectivity of the stripe and splatters paint onto the vehicles.

“Crews have a strict schedule to keep in order to stripe all of our highways and roads,” said Althauser. “In most cases we will not be able to re-paint stripes smeared by vehicles until spring 2009.”

How to spot a WSDOT striping crew
Drivers can protect their car from damage and help WSDOT crews by recognizing striping crews and avoiding lane changes on freshly painted lines.

Two clearly marked trucks comprise each striping crew. The first truck places the wet paint and glass beads on the highway. The second truck follows at the appropriate distance to encourage drivers to stay off of the wet paint. The two trucks travel from 500 to 1,000 feet apart, depending upon the time it takes for the paint to dry. The trucks travel closer together when air and ground temperatures are higher because the paint dries faster in these conditions.

To help drivers avoid wet paint during striping season, WSDOT will:

• Use well-marked striping trucks and signs.
• Call local media and let them know exactly where our crews will be working.
• Update crew locations on the striping season Web page.
• Record the crew locations on our 5-1-1 driver information line.
• Spell out crew locations for the coming week in our online construction update report, which is continually updated, at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Northwest/Construction.

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