HIGHWAY DISTRICT 12 (Jan. 9, 2020) – Motorists encountered a moving work zone on US 23 South in Pike County yesterday. The caravan of heavy equipment is installing inlaid pavement markers along the centerline of the highway. One lane is closed. A big yellow flashing arrow directs motorists to stay in the right-hand (slow) lane.
M&M Services of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, started work Monday, January 6, on the installation of 9,396 inlaid pavement markers on roadways in Floyd, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Letcher, and Pike counties. According to Doug Wright, Highway District 12 Section Engineer in charge of the project, the contractor has until April 15 to finish the $262,170.45 contract.
“Inlaid pavement markers are flush with the pavement rather than raised above the blacktop,” Wright explained. “Installation consists of milling 10-foot long grooves and placing two reflectors in the middle of each,” he said. “The work is weather dependent.”
Wright said that markers cannot be installed on wet roadways or in temperatures less than 32 degrees Fahrenheit. “The contractor is aware of these limitations and will be working around the weather,” he said.
All the markers will be put in roads that have been resurfaced within the past two years. The routes affected are sections of US 23 in Lawrence, Johnson, Floyd, Pike, and Letcher counties; KY 80 in Floyd and Knott counties; US 460 and KY 321 in Johnson County; KY 645 in Lawrence County; KY 15 in Letcher County; and KY 1426 and KY 3496 in Pike County. The contractor started with the Pike County routes.
Inlaid markers are used in high traffic areas and snowfall regions to provide lasting durability. They offer year-round visibility and reduced maintenance costs.
Motorists should pay attention when they come upon the work zone caravan; the equipment takes up the entire left-hand (passing) lane. “Traffic will be diverted into one lane, so people need to slow down and merge at the big flashing arrow sign on the back of the guide truck,” Wright cautioned.
