North Carolina transportation crews are running tight in Iredell County.
The state’s budget crunch meant a permanent reduction of 75 jobs this year in DOT Division 12, the six-county region that includes Iredell, down from pre-crunch staffing of 600-plus jobs. Also gone are the 15 or so temporary workers normally hired each year.
It’s meant that the division’s one road-stripe crew has four employees, down from six in flush times, to paint the 6,100 miles of roadway in their territory. That’s one person to drive the paint truck; one to operate the jets that spray stripes on the road; and two to operate a sweeper truck, post traffic signs and caution cones, guide traffic behind the paint truck and perform maintenance and mechanical work. No margin for error, and it’s a real problem when a person is out sick or on vacation.
I spent a few hours today with the paint crew and was impressed by their skill. Think about what it takes to draw four-inch straight lines along a rural road – edges and center lines – while cruising along at 8 miles per hour.
The paint operator has to lean out a window at the rear of the paint truck, looking down and forward while guide jets that drop paint and reflective glass beads along the roadway. It makes for a giant pain in the neck, literally, by the end of the day.
There was little complaining from this crew, though, in part because they’re working in a region where unemployment exceeds 15 percent. “They’re just happy to have a job, because the economy’s so bad,” said Phil Eaker, traffic services supervisor for Division 12, which includes Iredell.
At the end of the day, the freshly striped road looked new, not to mention being safer. “We do a good job of it,” said a crew member named Lo. “I look back and feel good about it.”