Striping Crews on Area Highways

Crews are out this summer re-striping Kentucky highways.

Drivers who encounter the work caravan should remember to slow down, use appropriate caution, and remember: 

• While the specialized paint dries quickly, you should still avoid driving through freshly painted stripes.

• If you meet the paint stripe caravan on a 2-lane highway, remember to pull to the right, especially if the truck is painting along the center line. If you come up behind them, please use patience. The paint truck moves at a steady pace, but well below normal highway speed. It may take several miles before the paint crew can pull over to allow traffic to pass.

• If you encounter the paint caravan on a 4-lane highway, please pay attention to signage on the back of support vehicles that will provide direction on how to safely overtake and pass the crew. Slow down and give the paint truck plenty of space to maintain a track along the roadway.

• On a 4-lane highway, the caravan may be spread along about a mile of highway. Please pass all of the vehicles before changing lanes. Whenever possible the paint caravan will have a police escort with blue lights.

As paint is sprayed onto the roadway special reflective beads are added to help make the traffic striping more visible at night.

Most heavily traveled highways get a new coat of traffic paint about every 2 to 3 years. Less traveled rural secondary highways get a new coat of traffic paint about every 3 to 5 years.