A national shortage of a raw material is shortening striping work along Maine roads, the state Department of Transportation said Thursday.
The major winter storm that left much of Texas without power in February has hindered the production of resin by petrochemical plants, according to a MDOT news release. As a result, manufacturing of paint is down, and Maine road crews now have less than half the amount of white and yellow paint that was on hand at this time last year.
The department said it will use its existing paint supplies on interstates, other high-priority highways and new roads. Many lower-priority routes will not be restriped this year.
Fortunately, the mild winter resulted in less plowing than usual, reducing the wear and tear that typically causes road paint to fade, the release said.
“This is a unique challenge, and there’s no way of knowing when our paint supplies are going to return to normal levels,” said MaineDOT Highway Maintenance Engineer Brian Burne. “We want to make sure members of the traveling public are aware of this situation and understand why some Maine roads will not receive new paint this year.”
