A section of I-5 in Lakewood now has an, uh, unconventional stripe. Here’s what happened
This yellow brick road doesn’t lead to Oz.
Late Thursday, Aug. 10, a state Department of Transportation (WSDOT) truck painting stripes on northbound Interstate 5 in Lakewood sprung a leak. By the time it pulled over on Bridgeport Way Southwest, a full mile of the far right lane had been covered in bright yellow paint.
The leak wasn’t a dribble. It was more like a flood of liquefied sunflowers. The hue is normally meant to attract drivers’ eyes, not distract pilots landing at nearby McChord Field.
The mess begins just after the Gravelly Lake Drive Southwest exit. About half of the lane is covered in sunny yellow paint.
“They realized it was broken and then they pulled off at Bridgeport Way,” WSDOT spokesperson Cara Mitchell said of the truck’s crew.
Mitchell said WSDOT is determining whether to blast the paint off with a high pressure water or just let it chip away with passing traffic.
“We have a feeling it’s going to wear off pretty fast,” she said.
Yellow lines usually make up the far left stripe of a multi-lane highway or in the center where highways are divided and no median barrier exits, Mitchell said.
Striping season
WSDOT painting crews are working full time while the weather is dry and warm to freshen up miles of stripes on the state’s highways. Painting can only be accomplished in the short summer window, Mitchell said.
“We have a certain amount of time every year to get this maintenance taken care of,” she said
At the time of the malfunction, the truck’s crew was painting white lane divider stripes.
The yellow paint quickly dried. Mitchell said she wasn’t aware of any driver complaints.
“It’s safe to drive on,” she said.
Washington State Patrol spokesperson Sgt. Doug Simmons said the agency was not aware of any traffic issues regarding the spill.
Gallons of paint
WSDOT’s Olympic Region has just one striping truck. The busted truck was fixed and back in operation on Monday, Aug. 14, Mitchell said.
The region is responsible for the maintenance of 2,943 lane miles on state highways in seven counties including Pierce. In 2022, WSDOT used 35,477 gallons of paint for lane striping.
This story was originally published August 15, 2023 at 2:49 PM with the headline "A section of I-5 in Lakewood now has an, uh, unconventional stripe. Here’s what happened."
