Striping season kicks-off in April and runs through October. During those six months, WSDOT crews will restripe more than 4,500 lane miles of highways around Puget Sound between the King/Pierce county line and the Canadian border. Next to snow and ice removal, striping is a top safety priority. For striping questions and inquiries in other areas of the state, e-mail us. 



Remember to give striping crews plenty of room and watch for the “wet paint” signs on Puget Sound highways. Although WSDOT uses fast-drying, water-based paint, driving over fresh stripes or changing lanes when following a striping crew can remove the reflectivity of the stripe, reduce safety, increase maintenance costs and spray paint onto your vehicle.


When do we stripe?

Crews can only stripe when the road is dry and the temperature is above 50 degrees.


Watch out for "wet paint" signs

View more photos on our Flickr site.

The paint we use is engineered to last, so it may be very difficult to remove from your vehicle if you drive on it while it's wet. Once we spray the paint on the roadway, it can take as little as thirty seconds or as long as five minutes to dry. 

Be prepared

• Listen to traffic reports for information about when and where striping crews will be on the road.
• Check out our traffic alerts website for the latest striping locations.
• Watch for “wet paint” warning signs and warning trucks.
• Don't change lanes behind a striping truck.

If you do happen to drive over wet paint, it should be removed within the hour by a high-pressure hose. The state will deny all reimbursement claims if a driver crosses wet paint when wet paint warning signs are present.

What's so special about the paint? 



The paint is water based (better for the environment) and contains thousands of little glass beads which allows it to reflect lots of light even at night.

When vehicle headlights hit the paint, tiny spheres in the glass beads reflect the light, making the stripes brighter for drivers in dark or rainy conditions.


By the numbers 

• In 2011, we will use nearly 56,000 gallons of paint mixed with nearly 400,000 pounds of recycled glass beads.
• Each truck carries 500 gallons of white and yellow paint and 5,000 pounds of beads.
• It takes 12 gallons of paint per one mile of roadway.
• Each truck uses seven pounds of beads per gallon of paint.
• A typical striping crew can put down 40 miles of stripes per day.

How can I get more information?

Contact:
WSDOT Communications
15700 Dayton Avenue North
PO Box 330310 MS: 103
Seattle, WA 98133-9710
Phone: 206-440-4697
E-mail: NWpublicAffairs@wsdot.wa.gov

For striping questions and inquiries in other areas of the state, e-mail us.