UDOT working to make roads safer with contrast striping

TAYLORSVILLE — Part of staying safe as a driver is staying in your lane.

However, it is tough to do when it is hard to tell where the lanes are.

The Utah Department of Transportation is working to make roads safer for everyone through contrast striping. 

The idea behind contrast striping — also known as tiger tail striping — is that it stands out from the lighter colored pavement with a white line directly followed by a black line.

 “That allows the lane markings to really pop,” said John Gleason, spokesman for UDOT.

Usually, striping needs to be redone every year because snowplows are wiping the striping off. 

This time, though, Gleason said it should last about six years.

“We’re grooving in about a quarter inch down these lane markings, and so hopefully, it’ll make it safer and last longer where the plow blades will just pass right over and not take the striping off,” Gleason said.

The project, which started last year in Utah County, is underway but far from over. They are focusing on areas all across the Wasatch Front, northern Utah, and parts of southern Utah, including Interstate 15, Interstate 80, and state Route 91 in Sardine Canyon this week.

So far, Gleason said they have gotten a positive response from the public on striping.