Lines on new asphalt disappear on rainy nights

QUESTION: I’m really impressed with the new asphalt on the city streets but discovered a problem. When we had all the rain the streets turned shiny at night and you couldn’t see the lines at all. Streets looked like one solid sheet of ice. It was frightening, especially when we went down South Tejon Street where there are now just two lanes, one each direction, under the railroad overpass. Would it be possible for some sort of reflectors to be added?
- Harold Glen
ANSWER: A new “high-build paint” was used for the lines on these streets. “It goes on thicker, and we were hoping it would cure those problems, but it didn’t,” said principal city traffic engineer David Krauth. We understand there’s an issue but have to be careful about what we do to solve it,” he said. The pop-up reflectors don’t work well here because they are destroyed by snowplows. “Several years ago we used recessed markers and they filled up with sand.” Krauth said there are several different things they want to try, but “we face issues of expense and the time to do it.”