Nearly 80,000 people drive Interstate 540 in Fayetteville every day and with sections of white lane markers shredding off, there is cause for concern.
"We understand that, you know, it didn't stick and our plan is to replace that and we're in the process of getting that done... There's a joint between the outside lane and the shoulder... That tape landed right on that joint," said Jeff Stroud, the Resident Engineer for the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department.
Crews installed the tape during recent construction of a third lane. Stroud believes traffic and wet conditions may have caused the conundrum.
"In places there was a little water seeping out of that joint, which we believe contributed to that tape not sticking like it needed to."
They are planning to fix the problem, but dropping temperatures are creating a challenge.
"This contract only allowed lane closure to be in place from seven o'clock night to six in the morning. The pavement surface needs to be 50-degrees for it to be placed. This time of year at night it's not 50-degrees at night, so it's going to be better to place it during the daytime."
Stroud knows new lines can be completed in 24 hours, and his department filed an official request Friday to shut down just one lane of traffic during the day.
"We have a minimum lane width that we need to adhere to and we believe we can move it over just a couple inches and still maintain that lane width that we need to get it off that joint."
Tthe tape is intended to last longer than lines painted on the roadway and with the quick completion of an extra lane, Stroud wants to ensure any safety issues are resolved.
"Our plan is to replace the tape that has been displaced."
Stroud said the problem should be resolved in less than a week.
