WYDOT asks motorists to be on the watch for striping crews

SHERIDAN, Wyo – The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) striping crews will begin work in the northeast corner of the state that will last for the next few months.

With that increased presence, WYDOT is asking motorists to be mindful of these operations and slow down.  

Striping is a mobile operation with multiple components, including two or more vehicles with various warning devices. Typically, motorists will encounter a convoy of striping vehicles – a pilot truck, the striping unit and another pilot truck in the back warning motorists of the operation ahead. 

WYDOT advises all motorists to not pass in and out of the striping equipment convoy. When possible, motorists should pass all vehicles at once when it is safe and legal to do so. If passing isn’t possible, motorists need to be patient as the striping vehicles will pull over when it is safe and appropriate.

The procedure is a slow one. To properly lay down the paint, these trucks travel at a speed between 8 and 12 mph. This allows for precise application, making sure the line remains straight, dashes are accurate and also helps direct the paint to where it needs to go – down, rather than out.  

Their slower speed is also an advantage to motorists – less debris is kicked up, reducing damage to passing vehicles and allowing for the paint to dry. This eliminates the “stray” tire line often seen when vehicles cross the fresh paint and keeps the paint from transferring to the vehicles.  

WYDOT District 4 has two striping crews – an urban crew and a rural crew. The urban crew works on state and federal streets in and around local communities, whereas the rural crew works on the interstate and rural highways.

On average, District 4 WYDOT stripers paint more than 3,800 miles of roadway a year, using roughly 69,000 gallons of paint with 275 tons of reflective glass beads, which provide the reflective factor at night. 

Motorists should slow down and move over when they encounter any maintenance, construction and utilities workers and vehicles when traveling on Wyoming’s interstates and highways. In fact, it is a Wyoming state law. 

As a reminder, the Move Over law requires motorists to move over or slow down when encountering an emergency, maintenance, construction and utility vehicles that have pulled over.

When motorists encounter these vehicles stopped on a road with two or more lanes in the same direction, they must move to the farthest lane away from the stopped vehicle.

On a two-lane road where speeds are 45 mph or greater, motorists must slow down to 20 mph below the posted speed limit. Motorists can be fined $235 for failure to move over. 

WYDOT reminds motorists to slow down in work zones and give crews room to work. 
 
For information about this news release, contact WYDOT District 4 public information specialist Laura Dalles at (307) 752-3022. For the latest road conditions, visit WYDOT's 511 website, call 5-1-1, or download the Wyoming 511 app. Follow District 4 on Facebook.