It’s that time of year again, when you may have to watch where you’re driving to avoid wet paint.
The Washington State Department of Transportation paint striping crews are hitting the roads to re-stripe every one of the 1,600+ miles of state highways in our seven-county region. It takes the crew several months to paint everything, usually finishing up just before the fall rains.
The team in the paint truck sprays the yellow and white pigments on the centerlines, fog lines, lane skip stripes, and freeway exits. Combined with every gallon of the reflective paint are thousands of small glass beads that raise the paint above the surface and help in reflecting the color back to drivers at night.
The Region uses between 70,000 and 80,000 gallons of paint every year.