SOUTH BOISE, Idaho — Residents of South Boise are voicing concerns about the difficulty of seeing lane lines when driving during rainy weather.
- The Ada County Highway District (ACHD) incorporates reflective glass beads in the paint on road lines to enhance visibility, particularly at night or during inclement weather.
- During winter operations, the glass beads can be damaged by snow plows, diminishing their reflective properties.
- Painting is not feasible during winter due to temperature constraints, ACHD crews plan to resume painting as the weather warms up.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Residents in South Boise are raising concerns about lane line visibility on the roads when it rains.
"Definitely when it's dark... when it gets dark, it's real hard to see," particularly at night, and after a long winter, says one South Boise resident.
The paint used on the Ada County Highway District roads incorporates reflective glass beads to aid commuters in seeing the road lines at night or during rainy weather. However, they mention that snowplows used in winter weather can break apart those glass beads, causing them to be less reflective.
"When you can't see the lines and you're out here in the country... like I drive here on Amity all the way to Nampa, it's tough to see... tough to know where the sides of the road are or where the other people are coming from," says a South Boise resident.
Despite the wear and tear on the paint, crews can't lay new paint in the winter due to colder temperatures, forcing them to wait until warmer months to touch up faded spots. As they await warmer days, ACHD is installing raised pavement markers to help with some problem areas.
