Crews from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal are working to re-paint lines on many of the Island’s busiest highways weeks earlier than normal.
Typically, most highway line paint is badly worn this time of year after the extremes of winter. This can cause motorists to have difficulties without good centre-line marking. Line painting by department crews usually starts in mid-April but, because of some new equipment and a successful lobby of the Federal government to allow oil based paint in cold temperatures, crews were able to start in mid-February of this year.
“Better highway marking is something I've asked our staff to work at and they've done extremely well,” says Minister Ron MacKinley. “I see a big difference myself and I've had quite a few positive comments about the early start and how much it has improved road safety and driver comfort level.”
Last year the department bought a new highway paint vehicle which uses advanced technoloy and can paint both yellow and white lines at the same time. That has allowed crews to re-paint more lines in a shorter period of time. So far crews have been focussing their work on the busiest sections of highway like the Charlottetown Bypass, the Trans Canada Highway and Route 2. As of last week more than 80 kilometres of yellow and white lines had been replaced giving drivers a much clearer view of their lane.
“We’re always looking at different options to improve safety on Island roads,” says Minister MacKinley. “By having the right equipment and committed staff we were able to start earlier than normal this year. That makes a big difference.”
Crews will continue this work on major roads before starting on secondary roads in the coming weeks and months. Drivers are asked to use caution when approaching paint trucks as they move much slower than regular traffic.