Paint shortage delays road striping

The fresh coat of paint normally applied to streets over the summer has seen some delays and price increases, but will occur this year.

After a two-month delay due to supply shortages, Jefferson City streets, crosswalks and curbs will be painted — but potentially not all of them.

Britt Smith, operations division director for the city’s Public Works Department, said he has been able to order paint at a higher price than normal, but it isn’t expected to arrive for several more weeks.

Meanwhile, the Missouri Department of Transportation Central District has not seen any delays in getting paint supplies and is receiving enough to “meet our needs on a daily basis,” said Lissie Wade, senior communications specialist.

The city re-stripes the roads every summer, Smith said, starting around May and going until September or the beginning of October.

However, this year, painting was delayed while staff searched for paint amid a nationwide shortage.

The shortage is attributed to the February severe winter storm in Texas and factories reducing staff because of COVID-19. Both slowed or paused supply chains.

As a result, the price increased.

Smith said Jefferson City paid roughly $9 a gallon last year. This year, that’s up to roughly $11.50 a gallon.

That’s resulted in paying more for less paint.

Last year, the city spent about $23,200 for 2,585 gallons of paint. This year, the city’s ordered 2,145 gallons for $24,500.

It’s a roughly 27 percent price increase, Smith said.

The city purchased 495 fewer gallons of white paint this year than last and an extra 55 gallons of paint in other colors.

Smith said part of that comes down to how particular yellow paint needs to be for compliance issues, whereas white is easier.

“We can go to Sherwin- Williams if we need 5 gallons of white, and we can come up with something that’ll work,” he said. “Yellow, we can’t do that with.”

The city purchased 220 gallons of white paint compared to 715 last year, he said.

Smith said some areas probably won’t get re-striped, most likely city parking lots, because of the supply shortage and condensed timeline, but the department will gauge where there’s high priority to make sure those spots are covered.

The shortage also meant Smith ordered paint all at once rather than multiple times over the summer.

If not all of the paint is used, it can be stored for spot touches over the year or added to next year’s supply.

The city typically finishes most of its road striping during the summer months because it takes less time for the paint to dry with the heat. Plus, staff hires high school and college students to do some of the work.

When painting streets, the temperature matters because when the weather is in the 90-degree range it may take three minutes for the paint to dry rather than 10 minutes on a 60-degree day.

“The warmer it is, the faster it dries,” Smith said.

Smith said the city hired fewer painters this year because of a shortage in applicants and the paint shortage.