Rocky Point Road Reflectors

Today a crew from Kitsap County Public Works installed road reflectors in the recently paved section of Rocky Point Road. Although the process is labor intensive (see photo), when the crew is working in sync they can install the reflectors quickly.

The square amber-colored reflectors are embedded in the pavement to mark the center of the road. Because they are about 40 feet apart, there are a lot of them to install. On dark rainy nights they are important safety devices.

By my count it takes five vehicles and seven workers to install the reflectors. Here’s how the process works: 

• A lead truck and a trailing truck carry electronic reader boards that alert motorists to “Keep Right.” Each truck has a driver. The trailing truck also tows the trailer that transports the Bobcat excavator to the work site.
• Sandwiched between the two trucks are three other vehicles, each with a driver/worker: the Bobcat, a small street cleaner, and a John Deere work vehicle. The Bobcat’s function is to scrape a shallow trench in the asphalt where the reflector will be installed. The next vehicle (the street cleaner) helps clean the trench. I’m using the word “helps” because the John Deere’s driver/worker used a leaf blower to blow out any remaining dust and gravel before squirting a generous glob of epoxy in the bottom of the trench.
• Two members of the crew are on foot. One walks ahead of the Bobcat and marks the locations where the reflectors will be installed with a can of spray paint. The other follows the John Deere and sets the reflectors in the epoxy. While I was watching, he didn’t tamp the reflectors down. Apparently there is no need for that.

Could the reflectors be installed as quickly and safely with fewer workers and vehicles? I would have to ask my old friend Ray, an industrial engineer. However, unlike some highway maintenance jobs I have seen, no one was standing around just watching heavy-equipment operators work.

Now if Public Works would only come back and paint the fog lines.