County Stripes Roads at Night

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Starting this Wednesday, August 5, Washington County's contractor, Specialized Pavement Markings Inc., will work nights repainting the stripes on arterial roads. Night striping is scheduled to continue through August 28, Sunday through Thursday, from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Striping at night when there is less traffic reduces delays on heavily traveled roadways.

Roads scheduled for night striping:
Barnes Road / Burnside Street
Cornelius Pass Road
Cornell Road / 10th Street
Farmington Road
Murray Boulevard
Scholls Ferry Road
Tualatin-Sherwood Road
Walker Road

County crews will stripe rural and lower traffic volume urban roads throughout the summer during daytime hours, weather permitting. Daytime striping work begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends by 4:30 p.m.

Motorists should use caution when they encounter a road striping operation. Do not drive across the stripes. Paint will splash onto your vehicle if you drive across a stripe while the paint is still wet. The paint used to stripe roads is a water-borne, non-toxic paint containing reflective glass beads. If you accidentally get road paint on your vehicle, you can remove it if you wash the area with soap and water right away before the paint sets up.

Motorists approaching a striping operation from behind will have plenty of warning. First they will see a vehicle carrying an electronic message board displaying alternating messages such as "Wet Paint" and "Do Not Pass."

Next will be a second "shadow" vehicle with flashing lights and a sign warning "Road Painting Ahead." Finally flashing lights and a "Caution – Wet Paint" sign will identify the striper truck, which sprays the paint stripes onto the road. Additional warning signs may be used to further inform motorists of the striping operation. Please obey the signed instructions and drive with care when encountering these situations.

Washington County's Department of Land Use and Transportation maintains almost a thousand lane miles of road striping. Because traffic wears the paint away, county crews repaint the stripes on heavily traveled roadways each year. Road striping must be done when the road surface is dry and the weather is relatively warm.

For more information about the county's road striping program, please contact Keith Lewis, Operations Superintendent, at (503) 846-7685.

Washington County is committed to building and maintaining the best transportation system, ensuring the safety of all roadway users, and to operating the county roadway system in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner.

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