News Release
City of Olympia, Washington
PO Box 1967, Olympia WA 98507-1967
Date of Release: July 18, 2011
Roadway Striping Planned
Crews will be out painting new edge and center lines and bike lanes on major roadways through town the next several weekends. Work schedule is from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Tentative Schedule
Roadway striping will take approximately four days. Due to the fact that crews cannot paint in cold weather or rain, several days have been set aside for the work, and the schedule will be adjusted as needed.
The following weekends have been tentatively scheduled for striping:
- July 23 & 24, 2011
- July 30 & 31, 2011
- August 6 & 7, 2011
- August 13 & 14, 2011
Roadways to be striped include:
- 4th Avenue
- Boulevard Road
- Capitol Way
- Downtown core
- Fones Road
- Henderson Boulevard
- Lilly Road
- Martin Way
- Morse-Merryman Road
- Pacific Avenue
- State Avenue
- Sleater-Kinney Road
- Wiggins Road
- 18th Avenue
Please be alert when driving near newly painted lane and line stripes, even if you don’t see the paint truck. Avoid crossing freshly painted lines when possible or drive slowly across them to minimize paint splatter in case the paint hasn’t yet completely dried.
Tips to Avoid Tracking Paint:
- Don’t pass the paint truck: crews will have a “trail vehicle” with a sign warning motorists not to pass the paint truck. It is important to stay three car lengths behind the truck and the trail vehicle, to give the paint time to dry.
- Avoid swerving back and forth to see around the paint truck and trail vehicle: this can track paint over the newly painted lanes on the roadway & splatter paint on your vehicle.
- Avoid driving over fresh stripes or changing lanes behind a striping truck – this can strip the reflectivity from the stripe and can spatter paint onto your vehicle.
- Parked & see a paint truck go by? Wait 5 minutes before driving on the painted areas.
What Happens When Cars Drive Over Wet Paint?
- They track more than paint; not only do tires splatter paint onto their vehicles, they remove thousands of tiny glass reflector beads that are designed to be clearly visible when illuminated by headlights. The reflective lane stripe helps drivers see the road at night and in the rain.
Striping Information
- If you do pass the truck and get paint on your vehicle, rinse it off immediately. The paint is water-based and will wash off if done right away. If you are unable to remove the paint, contact Risk Management at 360.753.8451.
- For questions about roadway striping, call Rick Knostman at 360.753.8438 or email publicworks@ci.olympia.wa.us
- Visit our website for more information.
