Crews Paint Miles Of White Safety Line On Highway

To the average individual 35,000 gallons is a lot of paint. But more than that amount will be used in the safety line striping operations now in progress by state crews on the major highway systems of Idaho when the last of the 2,500 miles have been decorated.

More than 700 miles of safety striping had been applied last week, according to Robert K. Lehman, state highway inspector, who watches over the process as two crews apply the striping with motorized units. The rest of the miles will be decorated before snow falls, under present plans.

To be more specific, it requires about 15 gallons to stripe a mile of highway. At that rate, 10,500 gallons have already been applied to the oiled and paved routes. The paint dries in 17 minutes, providing a minimum of damage to the decorations by the motoring public who may have occasion to cross the striping before the wet paint is many minutes old.

Paint Four-Inch Stripes

The motorized paint unit pushes a mechanical gadget ahead of the truck where a workman sits to guide the machine and regulate the flow of paint for the varying color scheme. The paint is applied in four-inch stripes, one yellow, one white, with black paving between.

And where does the regulator place the stripes? Safety lines are applied at vertical curves, where the highway climbs over a hill and the oncoming traffic is not visible for any distance. At narrow bridges where speeding cars might end in a crash, if they met thereon. On horizontal curves where motorists attempting to pass cars traveling in the same direction are not only taking chances with their own lives but are endangering the lives of others—and in contravention of traffic rules.

White Line Is Warning

In other words, when the motorist is traveling with the white line between him and the yellow line, he should not attempt to pass another automobile going his way if he has regard for life, limb or traffic regulations. If the yellow stripe is between him and the white marker it is safe and sensible to pass, providing there is reason and oncoming traffic sets up no other hazards.

Paint for the striping operations is carried in two 60-gallon and a 10-gallon tank and is applied to the paving surface by means of three discs which separate the colors and allow the pigments to be spread on the surface uniformly.

Two crews were operating in central Idaho last week in the Potlatch and Moscow areas. One numbers six men, the other nine, in addition to flagmen. One crew is printing new paving while the other is renewing old striping and making needed additions to include the white and yellow marker combination.

Stripe Lewiston Hill

Painting operations on the Lewiston hill highway were completed last week in addition to the Lewis-Clark from Spalding to Orofino. Operations have also been concluded on the North & South highway with the exceptions of certain parts. Resurfacing jobs between Winchester and Grangeville remain to be painted, as do parts of the White Bird hill which is to be re-oiled, an 11-mile link from Gifford bridge at Riggins south to Pollock and a few others.

“Experiments have shown that the white and yellow striping combinations are effective in reducing highway accidents.” Mr. Lehman said. “The practice has proved so successful that the plan was adopted by the state highway department.”

This story was published in the Aug. 27, 1939, edition of the Lewiston Tribune.