Officials finally think they have the answer for the multiple sets of lane stripes in the construction zone on Delaware’s I-95.
Complaints have been coming in to the Delaware Department of Transportation since June, when each highway lane was shrunk by a foot to accommodate construction of a fifth lane.
“The problem is you have a white lane marking covered over with a new lane marking only a foot away," Transportation spokesman Bob King said. "These markings are paralleling each other all the way down the highway, so it does get to be confusing, and now we'll have a third lane marking as well."
Construction crews have been using black paint to cover the old lane stripes, but because of the paint's reflectivity, the black paint can appear white—no different than the real lane markings, King said.
Crews tried different kinds of paint, and even ground down the old markings, but that didn't seem to help, either.
After discussing several possibilities, officials think they have a solution: they’re going to paint large paths of road, better covering the old marks, to eliminate the confusion caused by the black stripes.
"We're hoping that as you drive down the highway and see big, black splotches on the road, they won't be misinterpreted as a lane marking," King said. "It will look more like patches."
