Wisconsin DOT Testing Orange Lane Markings in Construction Zone

Many years ago, Schneider founder Don Schneider decided on bright orange paint for his trucks to make them more visible. So it's only fitting that the home state of the megafleet is testing orange highway markings for the same reason.

In Wisconsin, Department of Transportation workers this week are applying orange reflective epoxy paint within a I-94 westbound work zone just west of the Zoo Interchange. The traditional white and yellow lane and edge markings will be replaced with the orange paint to provide more clearly defined lanes in the construction zone.

Last year, motorists at times experienced difficult conditions in winter work zones, as salt residue on the roadway surface left the traditional white lane markings very challenging to pick out, says the DOT.

Orange reflective epoxy paint has been used in Canada, New Zealand and in Europe but not previously in the U.S., according to state officials. The Federal Highway Administration has granted permission to the Zoo Interchange team to use the orange paint in test areas in at least three separate locations along I-94 both east and west of the actual Zoo interchange.

WisDOT will track the performance of the paint under diverse weather and time of day conditions and will also be monitoring the reaction of motorists to the orange lane markings. A survey will follow after the lane markings have been in place to gather further reaction and opinions from motorists using this portion of the freeway system.