Black Paint (Roadway Striping)

[paulthemapguy]

With regard to roadway striping, have you ever seen black paint used to help drivers better distinguish patterns in white or yellow lines? Where have you seen it used? Are there any state DOTs that require this?  Is it a general requirement or a recommendation only in certain cases (e.g. only on concrete)?  I noticed this near Crete, IL- here's an example
https://goo.gl/maps/x8pXtRhH3T92

[SignGeek101]

I'v seen it in Ontario for better showing white lines on concrete freeways, though not commonly. I'm not sure if it's a standard or not (I couldn't find any other examples other than the one here):

https://goo.gl/maps/VGuH6LftDSB2

[Mergingtraffic]

https://goo.gl/maps/SCAXzKssdKK2

I like this style of it.

[realjd]

Isn't this common everywhere? On light colored roads like concrete, it seems standard to use white/black stripes or black outlined stripes to make them more visible. I've also seen a solid black line with the white/yellow lines painted on top.

[jakeroot]

This didn't use to be a thing in the Seattle area until very recently. They were introduced maybe one or two years ago at most. The new Hwy 16 viaducts in Tacoma, which are concrete, have white markings only (but have reflectors so they aren't totally invisible) -- the viaducts were completed in 2013. The 2014 refinishing of I-5 near Des Moines, however, does have the black and white markings.

[peterj920]

Lake Cook Rd in the Chicago area does this

[jeffandnicole]

With regard to roadway striping, have you ever seen black paint used to help drivers better distinguish patterns in white or yellow lines? Where have you seen it used? Are there any state DOTs that require this?  Is it a general requirement or a recommendation only in certain cases (e.g. only on concrete)?  I noticed this near Crete, IL- here's an example
https://goo.gl/maps/x8pXtRhH3T92

Yes, black paint is quite common.  It's been used for as long as I remember in southern states on concrete.  Several years back, NJ had tried various options, including a small strip of black paint edging the white line.  They finally decided on the tried-and-true standard: white skip line followed by black skip line.

Delaware, for some reason, does black skip line, followed by white skip line...the opposite of what most other states have done.

[Walleye2013]

I had always wondered why the New York Thruway had a white|back gap white|black gap pattern.

[MisterSG1]

I'v seen it in Ontario for better showing white lines on concrete freeways, though not commonly. I'm not sure if it's a standard or not (I couldn't find any other examples other than the one here):

https://goo.gl/maps/VGuH6LftDSB2

There aren't very many concrete surfaces in Ontario, the 2007 Hwy 410 extension rings a bell of another example just like the one you posted, it's a concrete surface from Bovaird to Mayfield.

https://goo.gl/maps/3PKFXk46t7L2

[freebrickproductions]

ALDOT used it on some of the bridges along I-565 and US 231 here in Huntsville. The stripes are half-white/half-black.
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.7318734,-86.5988493,3a,66.8y,198.52h,86.67t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sZ1L2Wx4bSNIIal4OK04K5Q!2e0
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.7294632,-86.5966459,3a,66.8y,353.55h,81.46t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1ss1nmauzvGSCRWuQ6dKh6hA!2e0

[MASTERNC]

PennDOT has done white stripes with tailing black stripes on concrete pavement (as shown below).  I believe some new sections of the PA Turnpike (there is at least one concrete section) also do this.

https://goo.gl/maps/6NNEQq4yAbq

[paulthemapguy]

With regard to roadway striping, have you ever seen black paint used to help drivers better distinguish patterns in white or yellow lines? Where have you seen it used? Are there any state DOTs that require this?  Is it a general requirement or a recommendation only in certain cases (e.g. only on concrete)?  I noticed this near Crete, IL- here's an example
https://goo.gl/maps/x8pXtRhH3T92

Yes, black paint is quite common.  It's been used for as long as I remember in southern states on concrete.  Several years back, NJ had tried various options, including a small strip of black paint edging the white line.  They finally decided on the tried-and-true standard: white skip line followed by black skip line.

Delaware, for some reason, does black skip line, followed by white skip line...the opposite of what most other states have done.

I also found this black-then-white pattern on I-405 in Washington when I was there last spring.

In which states is black paint more common?  You touched on its abundance in Southern states (thx for that!)- are there other tendencies to find it in some regions more than others?

[cl94]

With regard to roadway striping, have you ever seen black paint used to help drivers better distinguish patterns in white or yellow lines? Where have you seen it used? Are there any state DOTs that require this?  Is it a general requirement or a recommendation only in certain cases (e.g. only on concrete)?  I noticed this near Crete, IL- here's an example
https://goo.gl/maps/x8pXtRhH3T92

Yes, black paint is quite common.  It's been used for as long as I remember in southern states on concrete.  Several years back, NJ had tried various options, including a small strip of black paint edging the white line.  They finally decided on the tried-and-true standard: white skip line followed by black skip line.

Delaware, for some reason, does black skip line, followed by white skip line...the opposite of what most other states have done.

I also found this black-then-white pattern on I-405 in Washington when I was there last spring.

In which states is black paint more common?  You touched on its abundance in Southern states (thx for that!)- are there other tendencies to find it in some regions more than others?

Parts of the northeast with a decent amount of concrete surfaces (PA, DE, certain NY agencies). Concrete surfaces aren't too common in these parts due to the freeze-thaw action and the ease of repairing asphalt.

[jakeroot]

Several years back, NJ had tried various options, including a small strip of black paint edging the white line.  They finally decided on the tried-and-true standard: white skip line followed by black skip line.

I also found this black-then-white pattern on I-405 in Washington when I was there last spring.

The 405 near Bellevue has that rare New Jersey style (not sure if that's what you were getting at with your reply or not):

[jeffandnicole]

Several years back, NJ had tried various options, including a small strip of black paint edging the white line.  They finally decided on the tried-and-true standard: white skip line followed by black skip line.

I also found this black-then-white pattern on I-405 in Washington when I was there last spring.

The 405 near Bellevue has that rare New Jersey style (not sure if that's what you were getting at with your reply or not):

That was the experimental Jersey style, as shown here in 2009: https://goo.gl/maps/pe4EoXmyyzR2

4 years later, the tried-and-true style. Clearly easier to see: https://goo.gl/maps/qM4VqjPSuZS2

[KEK Inc.]

The new 520 floating bridge has both black paint and black Botts' Dots. 

[jeffandnicole]

Of course, after I talked about how NJ is now striping white/black lines, I see that at a recently completed construction project on 30/130, they did the white over black method: https://goo.gl/maps/zqAWYobx4U42

[AMLNet49]

Does California even still use Botts dots anymore? Most repaving jobs, and even older roads in the desert, appear not to use them. Hawaii seems like the #1 Botts state now. The black paint will keep expanding I believe, given it's usefulness and the ease of installing it.

[cl94]

Does California even still use Botts dots anymore? Most repaving jobs, and even older roads in the desert, appear not to use them. Hawaii seems like the #1 Botts state now. The black paint will keep expanding I believe, given it's usefulness and the ease of installing it.

The new Bay Bridge has them according to GSV. Looking around, the Bay Area uses them quite a bit.

Nevada also uses them extensively from what I've seen.

[jeffe]

Does California even still use Botts dots anymore? Most repaving jobs, and even older roads in the desert, appear not to use them. Hawaii seems like the #1 Botts state now. The black paint will keep expanding I believe, given it's usefulness and the ease of installing it.

The new Bay Bridge has them according to GSV. Looking around, the Bay Area uses them quite a bit.

Yes, Caltrans still uses Botts dots but it depends on the district.  The Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Orange County districts use Botts dots with 4 inch thermoplastic stripes placed over the dots.  San Diego does the same except with 6 inch stripes placed over the dots.  The other districts appear to use only thermoplastic or in snow areas, paint, stripes.

As for black paint, or shadow striping as it is sometimes called, it also depends on the district or even individual projects.  Some places use black stripes before the white line, others after, and still others before and after the white stripe.  The "New Jersey" style is also used, but mostly for HOV lanes, although it is possible to see it used for the mixed flow lanes in certain places.

While the use of black paint for interior lane lines is relatively new in California, it has been used since at least the 1980s with outside shoulder lines on bridge decks.   

[roadfro]

Nevada's first foray into the black contrast striping on light concrete pavements was on the US 395 (I-580) northbound widening project in Reno a few years ago. The style used was the two thin stripes of black on both sides of the normal stripes, even for the edge lines (example). The striping style was later also used on the I-80 rebuild through Reno-Sparks.

In the Reno area, Washoe County RTC has been tending to use light concrete pavement in reconstruction of intersections. They are using the black paint contrast striping as well, and also use black outlines on some thermoplastic markings (example).

Does California even still use Botts dots anymore? Most repaving jobs, and even older roads in the desert, appear not to use them. Hawaii seems like the #1 Botts state now. The black paint will keep expanding I believe, given it's usefulness and the ease of installing it.

The new Bay Bridge has them according to GSV. Looking around, the Bay Area uses them quite a bit.

Nevada also uses them extensively from what I've seen.

The only extensive use of raised pavement markers in Nevada is in Clark County, and that's primarily urban arterial/collector roads in the Vegas area.

NDOT uses RPMs in the Vegas area (and on I-15 south of Las Vegas), but reverts to painted lines/thermoplastic with reflectors only on some other major highways in the county (e.g. I-15 north of Las Vegas). They go to paint only on most rural highways in the county. SR 163 appears to be an exception and has the full RPM treatment.


The rest of the state is paint/thermoplastic only.

[kphoger]

On the toll road between Monterrey and Saltillo (México), black paint is used...
Between lanes:  completely surrounded by a small black strip
Dashed shoulder line:  completely surrounded by black, including the gaps

A picture is worth a thousand words

[jbnv]

Louisiana does white on black.