Watch for slow-moving striping crews on the roads

Spring cleaning not only involves your house, but also Missouri’s roadways. Part of the annual maintenance is repainting the lines on the road that have faded or been worn down by tires, rain and snow and snowplow blades.

The Missouri Department of Transportation will begin striping operations and drivers will see slow-moving caravans of trucks refreshing the lines on the roadway with paint that contains glass beads that reflect light from headlights in the dark.

“We urge motorists to use extreme caution and allow the machinery the space needed to properly apply the reflective paint,” said State Highway Safety and Traffic Engineer Nicole Hood. “Please don’t drive distracted, be patient and use caution so no one gets hurt.”

When workers are painting white and yellow lines on the highways, striping trains move between 8 and 12 mph. The trucks have flashing lights, boards with flashing arrows and signs that say “SLOW VEHICLES” and “WET PAINT.”

MoDOT crews will be striping two-lane roadways in the spring and fall and working on freeways and expressways in June, July and August. Most of the striping is done during daylight hours. However, crews may work at night on interstate highways and other high volume divided highways.

Each year, MoDOT stripes about 70,000 miles of roadway — a distance that would circle the Earth more than two times.

Safety Tips

· Please don’t drive distracted, wear your seat beat and put your phone down. Be patient if you come across MoDOT crews and give them the space to do their job safely.

· Start to slow down as soon as you see the lights and signs and keep your distance until it is safe to go around the trucks.       

· On four-lane divided highways, pull around the striping train by merging carefully into the open lane, passing all the trucks in the train before moving back into the lane.

· On two-lane highways, stay behind the last truck in the striping train. This vehicle is placed well behind the striping truck to give the new paint the few minutes it needs to dry. If traffic backs up behind the striping train, MoDOT crews will pull out of the way where it is safe to do so and let congestion clear.

· MoDOT uses water-based paint in all of its highway operations. If you drive through wet paint, clean your car as quickly as possible with a high-powered water hose, such as those used in car washes.