Work crews from the state Department of Transportation will restripe Highway 525 and Highway 20 next week.

The work will start Monday, July 28 and stretch through Thursday afternoon, July 31. Crews will work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Drivers are being urged to use extra caution and watch for slow-moving vehicles and the “wet paint” signs.

Also, drivers who cross wet paint when warning signs are present won’t be eligible for reimbursement. It's also bad for the paint.

“Crews have a strict schedule to keep in order to stripe all of our highways and roads,” said Jerry Althauser, superintendent for traffic maintenance and operations for the Department of Transportation. “In most cases, we will not be able to repaint stripes smeared by vehicles until spring 2009.”

Crews began striping in April and will spend about six months restriping more than 4,500 miles on dozens of state highways around the Puget Sound area.

“Next to snow and ice removal, striping is our top safety priority,” Althauser said. “Each gallon of paint contains thousands of tiny glass reflector beads to help increase visibility in dark rainy conditions.”

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