Fraudulent text messages and phone calls appearing to come from the Iowa DOT or DMV are targeting recipients with false claims of unpaid traffic/parking violations or tolls.
The Iowa DOT is adopting 6-inch wide lines as the standard for interstates and primary highways, aligning with the national movement. This wider marking enhances safety, improving visibility and reducing run-off-the-road crashes. It also facilitates detection by vehicle automation and lane-assist systems, preparing for future technology.
We have been testing 6-inch wide lines on various projects and have received positive feedback. Within the next few years, we will begin installing 6-inch lines on all construction projects and existing lines will be repainted at 6 inches. To prepare for this change, specifications, standards, tabulations, and software packages are being updated to make 6-inch lines the default.
The 4-inch wide line styles will not be removed. We recognize that the 4-inch wide lines still have a use and we will continue to install and refresh pavement markings at 4 inches until funding is established for the transition. These changes do not alter design or construction workflows; they establish the groundwork to ensure our documentation is ready for a future switch to 6-inch lines.
The specification changes have been approved so that 6-inch width is the method of measurement (2527.04 B). This change will be posted online before April 2024.
Multiplying totals of 6-inch line factors by 1.5 will give approximate totals of 4-inch line factors
The difference between calculated 4-inch line factor totals and previous 4-inch line factor totals is approximately 0.6% high.
This difference is caused by rounding of the 6-inch line factors (0.66666666 rounded to 0.67).
It is recommended that agencies to list the unfactored line lengths and/or the centerline miles to be painted in the bid request for information only. This may help contractors better understand the change in measurement factors and reduce the potential for confusion.
