The Jefferson County Public Works Department will begin restriping the yellow centerlines on all county roads beginning the week of June 8 or the week of June 15, depending on the weather.
The project is estimated to take three to five weeks to complete, ending in mid-July, according to a written statement from Public Works.
The project also includes restriping the white edge lines on county-maintained roads to the north of Hwy. M/MM and to the west of Hwy. 30.
“This equates to more than 4 million linear feet of yellow centerline and 2.3 million linear feet of white edge line paint stripe,” the release stated. “In addition, approximately 2,600 linear feet of stop bars, 1,100 linear feet of crosswalks and hundreds of directional symbols will be repainted this year.”
The restriping project will cost $700,000 and will be finished by America’s Parking Remarking in St. Louis. The company was the lowest of two bidders who applied for the contract, according to the Public Works statement.
The project will be paid for using a countywide 1/2-cent sales tax for road and bridge improvements.
The county paid the company $675,000 for similar work last year. However, eight roads have been added to the project and are being striped for the first time: Allen, Amy Clark, Argonne, Heads Creek, Highland Baptist Church, Regina Rice, Sand Cut and Tom Frost roads.
The new roads, primarily in the southern and western portions of the county, are highlighted in the 2021 County Road Safety Plan to receive additional pavement markings to increase safety countermeasures and reduce vehicle crashes, Public Works stated. In general, white edge line striping on roads assists in preventing run-off-the-road crashes, and yellow centerline striping helps prevent head-on collisions.
The yellow centerline will be added to roads with a minimum of 10-foot lanes. Heads Creek and Highland Baptist Church roads have narrower drive lanes, meaning they will not get the yellow stripes.
According to Public Works, America’s Parking Remarking will use a striping truck along with a trailing vehicle to warn motorists of the wet paint. A county vehicle will follow the trailing vehicle to assist operations and allow the paint to further dry before motorists come into contact with it.
The striping operation travels at about 10 miles per hour, the statement said.
“We understand that getting stuck behind the striping operation could cause an inconvenience; however, it is strongly recommended that vehicles do not try to pass the striping operation,” Public Works stated. “Driving on wet paint makes a mess of your vehicles as well as our county roads.”
Depending on the temperature at the time the paint is sprayed on the road and humidity levels, it can take anywhere from two to three minutes or longer for the paint to dry, Public Works stated.
“If the public happens to get paint on their vehicles, the county suggests that they try to remove it with WD-40 as quickly as possible prior to contacting the county or contractor to make a claim for damages,” the release said.