Epoxy Markings

[Mergingtraffic]

I noticed last year in CT they are skimping on epoxy.

There were quite a few resurfacing projects in CT last year and instead of using epoxy for the new line markings, they use paint and it has worn out by now.  Then, they come back and paint it again and still no epoxy.  Why not just put epoxy down to begin with!?!?!  It would save them two coats of paint.  Eventually they will put epoxy down but why wait?

Also, CT still uses tape for the center broken white line on expressways.  It was put down on the new resurfaced portion of CT-8 Expressway around Exits 24-23.   Of course, some are completley gone b/c of the plows from this past winter. O nparts of I-84 around Exit 16,the tape broke apart and parts are stuck to the pavement all accross the road. I thought most stated moved away from tape.

Also, on the contrary CT will paint over the epoxy with regular paint.  Isn't that the purpose of the epoxy to not paint the lines every year?  Some of the roads that are repainted with paint over epoxy don't even need it.

Finally, I noticed on sections on US-6 in Farmington, the did reapply the epoxy but skipped over the arrows and stoplines.  Wouldn't it be nice to do it ALL at once and have a nice complete roadway with new epoxy markings!?!?

[Scott5114]

When I lived in MO, I really started liking epoxy lane markings. Oklahoma never uses them, and the paint they use is amazingly bad quality. It is almost non-reflective, and chips off very frequently. There are some brief sections of Interstate in Oklahoma with no lane markings at all because they've all worn off.

[Alps]

In NJ, tape is only used on temporary or intermediate courses of pavement (or milled pavement), generally no more than three days but possibly up to a week.  Paint is used during longer construction stages, weeks, months or even over a year in duration, but not permanent.  Thermoplastic (I assume what you refer to as epoxy) is only used for the final product unless the contract specifically calls for it during a long series of stages or on a detour roadway.  Arrows, stop bars, etc. are only painted or thermoplastic - in fact, even if it's just for a day, I've never seen tape used for anything other than skip lines or the rare shoulder line.

[Scott5114]

That's another thing that OK does wrong: tape is never used for temporary markings. No matter the duration, temporary markings are painted. That means that when the portion of the project that requires the markings is done, it must either be grinded off–making for an unpleasant experience as an otherwise new surface is intentionally damaged–or in the case of asphalt, painted over in black, which can still reflect light as much as the in-effect paint does in sunset/sunrise conditions, causing possible confusion as to which markings are the correct ones.

[roadfro]

Thermoplastic is used more on freeways and major arterials, with similar uses on minor roads sometimes being paint (depending on the maintaining agency). Nevada seems to only use thermoplastic for stop/yield lines, crosswalk bars, arrows, and in-roadway text markings; lane markings are usually done with paint (except in southern Nevada, where raised pavement markers are often used).

[thenetwork]

Out in Western Colorado, they have used thermoplastic (I believe) exclusively for the white dotted lines on I-70.  I actually saw the "assembly line" process they used one or two summers ago: 

Lead truck:  Grinds a small rut in the asphalt (this to help insure that the new stripe stays in place without getting scraped away by snowplows).

Truck #2:  Sweeps & air-blows grinding debris away from the new rut.

Truck #3: Contains the long "roll" of dotted lines.  One person gets a stripe, one person applies the adhesive to the asphalt, and one person assists in the placement of the stripe.

Truck #4: Applies heat to the stripe to ensure a good bond between the pavement and the stripe.

It looked like a pretty good assembly process, and it looked like one crew did the whole interstate in both directions in a 60-75 Mile stretch. 

After 2+ years, they still look intact, and still reflective at night.

[myosh_tino]

Thermoplastic is used more on freeways and major arterials, with similar uses on minor roads sometimes being paint (depending on the maintaining agency). Nevada seems to only use thermoplastic for stop/yield lines, crosswalk bars, arrows, and in-roadway text markings; lane markings are usually done with paint (except in southern Nevada, where raised pavement markers are often used).

In the S.F. Bay Area, thermoplastic use mirrors what roadfro describes (stop line, crosswalks, arrows, text markings, etc) although some cities use paint or botts dots (raised pavement markers) for center and lane lines.  Most, if not all, freeway lane lines use botts dots or a combination of botts dots and paint.

I have seen tape being used for temporary markings but it looks awful because the lines are never straight.

[Alps]

In NJ, or at least I think, the thermoplastic mixture just pours out the back of the truck like any line painter.  It's a pay item called "Traffic Stripes, Long-Life Thermoplastic".

[KEK Inc.]

Thermoplastic is used more on freeways and major arterials, with similar uses on minor roads sometimes being paint (depending on the maintaining agency). Nevada seems to only use thermoplastic for stop/yield lines, crosswalk bars, arrows, and in-roadway text markings; lane markings are usually done with paint (except in southern Nevada, where raised pavement markers are often used).

In the S.F. Bay Area, thermoplastic use mirrors what roadfro describes (stop line, crosswalks, arrows, text markings, etc) although some cities use paint or botts dots (raised pavement markers) for center and lane lines.  Most, if not all, freeway lane lines use botts dots or a combination of botts dots and paint.

I have seen tape being used for temporary markings but it looks awful because the lines are never straight.

Oh, man.  Don't get me started on Bott's Dots.    Those things get peeled off so easily, and personally, they're not as easy to see at night.  California tends to use more concrete than any other state for their roads, so I can see the advantages to raised road markings; however, paint with the normal reflectors can do just fine if there's a contrasting black border around the white line. 

Anyways, the stretch of US-101 between CA-85 and Cochrane Rd. in Morgan Hill, has fared pretty well for its complete use of Bott's Dots (with the exception of the shoulder lines).

[myosh_tino]

Anyways, the stretch of US-101 between CA-85 and Cochrane Rd. in Morgan Hill, has fared pretty well for its complete use of Bott's Dots (with the exception of the shoulder lines).

Yeah, botts dots are rarely used for shoulder lines on freeways which are normally marked with yellow or white paint and colored reflectors.  Botts dots do get dislodged but since 4 are used to simulate a lane lane segment, it does take some time before they all fall off.

FWIW, Caltrans does not use botts dots in areas where snow plows are used during the winter season.  On freeway that traverse mountain ranges (most notably I-5 and I-80), lane lines are painted on while the reflectors are recessed into the pavement.

[KEK Inc.]

Anyways, the stretch of US-101 between CA-85 and Cochrane Rd. in Morgan Hill, has fared pretty well for its complete use of Bott's Dots (with the exception of the shoulder lines).

Yeah, botts dots are rarely used for shoulder lines on freeways which are normally marked with yellow or white paint and colored reflectors.  Botts dots do get dislodged but since 4 are used to simulate a lane lane segment, it does take some time before they all fall off.

FWIW, Caltrans does not use botts dots in areas where snow plows are used during the winter season.  On freeway that traverse mountain ranges (most notably I-5 and I-80), lane lines are painted on while the reflectors are recessed into the pavement.

Yeah, I've noticed plenty of Bott's Dots up in Washington too.  They're actually more handy up there since we get wet weather.  In Oregon, some freeways don't even have reflectors, so driving in the rain at night can be very frustrating at times. 

I'm not sure what this is called, but in many states, including Oregon and Washington, they have a studded paint strip.  Maybe this is the epoxy marking you were referring to, but it's generally a square shape raised marking that is painted over.  I know they're designed similar to rumble strips to wake drivers up if they drift out of their lane.

[Mergingtraffic]

In NJ, or at least I think, the thermoplastic mixture just pours out the back of the truck like any line painter.  It's a pay item called "Traffic Stripes, Long-Life Thermoplastic".

In CT it's the same way, b/c the truck sometimes lets out too much and the lines are thicker than normal in spots.
Also, the epoxy (thermoplastic) when it wears out, you see two thin lines on each side of the thermoplastic on each edge.  

I also don't like botts dotts...why not just use paint and black paint together like Florida uses!?!?  Ever drive over the larger botts dotts?  Yikes! 
What happens when the paint under the botts dotts wears out first?   

[roadfro]

Oh, man.  Don't get me started on Bott's Dots.    Those things get peeled off so easily, and personally, they're not as easy to see at night.  California tends to use more concrete than any other state for their roads, so I can see the advantages to raised road markings; however, paint with the normal reflectors can do just fine if there's a contrasting black border around the white line. 

I also don't like botts dotts...why not just use paint and black paint together like Florida uses!?!?  Ever drive over the larger botts dotts?  Yikes! 
What happens when the paint under the botts dotts wears out first?   

One of the reasons southern Nevada uses a lot of raised pavement markings (RPMs) for lane lines is a combination of climate and condition (at least, this is what I've been told). With the area typically receiving only four inches of rain per year, the roads tend to collect oils and grime from all the traffic. If the lane lines were formed with paint, they would often be covered with grime and the paint would quickly lose its reflective qualities. By using raised pavement markers with reflectors, the visibility is increased--agencies only need to replace the reflecting markers every couple years as the reflective elements wear out. The rumble of driving over the RPMs also adds a physical cue (rumble and sound) to alert drivers that may be inadvertently drifting from their lane.

Some agencies (California in particular) apply RPMs on top of a painted line for added visibility. In these applications, I assume maintenance of the RPMs takes priority over the paint. I think I've seen some cases where fresh paint is put over the dots, with a new reflecting marker applied, but this would seem to be more of an exception.

If the RPMs are peeling off easily, then they are not being properly applied. The asphaltic epoxy (or whatever the bonding agent) is a very strong material. In many cases, the reflective elements of raised markers wear out long before the normal bumps get overly damaged.

Larger than average raised pavement markers also exist. These are typically used to give additional emphasis for delineation purposes, and are not really meant to be driven over.

[andytom]

I'm not sure what this is called, but in many states, including Oregon and Washington, they have a studded paint strip.  Maybe this is the epoxy marking you were referring to, but it's generally a square shape raised marking that is painted over.  I know they're designed similar to rumble strips to wake drivers up if they drift out of their lane.

Actually, I believe that the entire line is epoxy with either an extra layer or a fold put into it to create bumps.  Removes the need for botts dots.  They're also using this on the roadway edge line in place of cut in rumble strips.

--Andy