Ghost road markings could become a thing of the past as Wellington City Council trials a new method that could make their removal quicker, more efficient and cheaper.
When city roads are redesigned, “phantom” markings are sometimes left behind where the old road markings were. For years, Wellington City Council has received complaints about poor management of road markings across the city after changes were made. Transport and infrastructure manager Brad Singh said that in the past, one way to remove old markings was to resurface the street, but this was a costly and time-consuming task.
”We tried covering up the excess markings with black paint or covering them with durable light-blocking materials such as cold-applied plastic. We had to give up washing off the old markings with water, as they leave marks on the road and can be covered with water in wet weather – in the light of headlights at night they still reflect as road markings.”
These treatments have their pros and cons, and each will leave behind old scars, Bullard said.
”We have recently started to coat the markings with a durable product that will blend into the road over time and hide the original markings permanently, as opposed to black paint which will allow the markings to show through over time. However, in certain lighting conditions, the treatment will still look like markings. “The cheapest option is to coat the lines with black paint and this method works well when we expect the change to be temporary, such as at a roadworks site or when we plan to close the road in a year’s time. The team is now trialling two different promising treatments that could properly remove the markings from the road. Both methods will be trialled on Bowen Street and Whitmore Street.
”On Bowen Street we will use a steam blasting method, which is similar to sandblasting but less damaging. On Whitmore Street we will trial an emulsion technology which will blend the markings into the road without causing damage and will provide a longer lasting effect.”
Bullard said the team was looking for new solutions because the current method was not working and the council was aware of the impact of the markings on road safety. He said they were working to find a more long-term, effective option. “We are aware of these shortcomings of phantom markings across the city and are looking for opportunities to test when the weather improves and the road temperatures rise, which would provide the best conditions for the new approach. “Trials will begin in the coming weeks, depending on weather conditions, and the results will be compared to determine the best solution.
Post time: Mar-24-2025