Ask 2: How can you get lane markings fixed on highways?

HOUSTONAt KPRC 2, we’re dedicated to keeping Houstonians informed. As part of our Ask 2 series, the newsroom will answer your questions about all things Houston.

Question: Gordong Giang is asking, “How can you get lane markings fixed on highways?”

Answer: The Texas Department of Transportation says they continuously check and maintain these lane markings on their highways and will re-stripe when the roadway no longer meets their guidelines. Sometimes this will be done as a stand-alone process, maybe through a district-wide striping contract or through a maintenance contract for a specific roadway. Other times they incorporate re-striping in a new construction project.

I asked them about the reflector situation and TXDOT agreed. Many people ask, “Well, shouldn’t they be placed on every highway?” Realistically, the maintenance on these reflectors is expensive and they have to be strategic in terms of where they place them. So, they run studies on certain highways to get information like where are they seeing the most crashes.

City of Houston officials also do their part in making sure these lane markings are also taken care of on side streets and near feeders and this includes stop sign street markings, using a 2,000-degree torch face with open mouthfire to fuse thousands of pavement markings to the concrete.

You can call 3-1-1 if you see any markings that need to be replaced on City of Houston streets and if you would like to submit a striping concern on a highway, you can do so on TXDOT’s website at https://www.txdot.gov/.

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