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Published Wednesday, October 24, 2001, in the Contra Costa Times

Botts' dots may go the way of the Edsel

Ubiquitous ceramic highway bumps can't stand up to pounding by heavy
truck traffic

By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times

...

But the future of the ubiquitous Botts' dot is in question,
particularly in Southern California, where heavy truck traffic is
increasingly turning the ceramic road markers into roadway rubble.

"We have a durability problem," said Larry Ornay, the regional
manager for special crews at the Los Angeles office of the California
Department of Transportation.

It seems the little dot is cracking and crumbling under the weight of
big fast-moving trucks. The same is true of the plastic yellow and
white reflective markers, which are considered the higher-tech
descendants of the Botts' dot.

The life expectancy of the dots and plastic markers has been dropping
steadily, from nearly 10 years to about two. And the future does not
look rosy: Truck traffic is expected to double by 2020 because of
increased cargo coming from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

...

At the Caltrans testing laboratory, the most promising alternative to
the dots seems to be a thick highly reflective paint that contains
bits of recycled glass, said Terry Germany, information officer for
the research lab.

The paint, which resembles toothpaste, can be applied on the pavement
by machine, eliminating the need to put work crews in the path of
fast-moving traffic during installation.

To replicate the dots' rumble-strip effect, Germany said an extra-
thick glob of the paint can be dropped every few feet, creating a
mound of the substance.

But Germany said it could be years before the durability tests on the
goopy reflective paint are completed. If the tests are positive, the
Botts' dot could ually be useful as a paperweight.

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