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Pavement Marker

Photographs courtesy HTSA & TSA (Craig Simcock).  Craig Simcock in the Pavement Marking Group of the Highways Department Northfield Depot restored this one operator ‘pedestrian’ pavement marker to original working condition in 1986. The marker resembles a family lawnmower and measures 1.17 x 0.84 x 0.59 m. It was used for line-marking, 100 mm separation lines and edge lines between 1962 and 1968.

Manufactured by J.G. Parr & Co. of Melbourne in 1962, with a purchase cost of $112, the marker has a push, pull operation. The gravity fed paint is applied by brushes. A slow operation, the output was about 1-3 miles per day. Although this type of pavement marker was superseded by spray equipment, it was still used for several years to ‘black out’ unwanted lines on road pavements. 

This unit was the 5th pavement marker purchased by the Department and was used in situations where machine units were unable to operate, for example, stop lines, holding lines at intersections, and other short lines. 

A team of three or four men are involved in all pavement marking operations. As well as ensuring the marking is done they are also aware of sharing the road with other traffic. Craig Simcock recalls how one of his crew was hit by a semi-trailer on the Hills freeway. “Rick was in the supply truck, this is the pilot vehicle for the line-marking, and a semi clobbered him straight in the back. He was just lucky the guy woke up…. ripped all the left side out ….” In country areas the danger increased due to the high speed of the traffic.

Photograph courtesy TSA (Walkley Heights).  Line-marking on the Eyre Highway near Nundroo in 1987.

Originally the paint used for the line-marking was solvent-based and needed the addition of ‘thinners’ to make it more fluid. The quality of paint used is still continually monitored. It is important to have the right consistency and the optimum thickness for varying road conditions. The use of white paint on all double lines was introduced in 1981 as it proved to be more economical and was easier to see than yellow paint. Yellow paint continued in use for kerbsides, ‘Clearways’ and restricted parking areas. In 1989 a new paint marking system was introduced to combat skidding at intersections and stop areas. Finely crushed quartz was added to the paint producing an anti-skid surface with good wearing qualities.

Acrylic paint is now used for standard road marking. It is a water-borne paint that is environmentally friendly and non-toxic. In locations where wear is severe, thermo-plastic markings are generally used. Thermo-plastic can be applied many times thicker than paint and so give a much longer wearing life.

The occasional wavy lines seen on roads are not always due to the operator; deformation of the road surface is usually responsible.

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