ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A mysterious yellow line running down the middle of the interstate on Interstate 95 southbound from Jacksonville and all the way to St. Augustine is causing confusion and safety concerns among drivers, News 6 partner WJXT-TV reported.
The line has been there since Friday, starting at the Acosta Bridge.
News4JAX Sky 4 drone captured the line that extends for over 20 miles, crosses lanes several times and changes in width but always remains visible.
“Wasn’t sure which way was the line to go on,” confused driver Mario Dearmas said. “It’s going to take them a while to fix it.”
Driver Richard Albandy is worried that the line may represent an accident hazard.
“It’s a yellow line with a yellow line on the other side,” said Albandy. “Most people like, especially if they are out of town, they’re not really too much looking at if that’s the line that goes where they’re supposed to go. They are trying to get to their destination.”
WJXT-TV confirmed that the line ends at Acme Barricades near St. Augustine, where there appears to be paint in the parking lot. However, the road construction company has not answered requests to talk about the matter.
Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Transportation is investigating how it happened and who is behind the mysterious line.
“I don’t believe that anybody has taken responsibility for it yet. But we’re going to work with whoever we can make sure that that’s identified,” FDOT Community Outreach Manager Hampton Ray said.
FDOT said drivers need to be careful, especially those with self-driving assistance. They ask drivers to turn off this feature while driving on I-95 in the area.
“We’re going to have an operation, where we take a street sweeper, with a wire brush, and we will be going and doing our best to dislodge some of the yellow paint from the roadway,” Ray added. “We do not expect this to be the end-all solution.”
It is still unclear how much it will cost to remove the paint and who will be responsible to pay for it.
tarnin on September 12nd, 2023 at 17:16 UTC »
Them asking you to turn off auto driving is kinda scary if they are that easily fooled. Once that becomes common if nothing more than an errant yellow line can fuck it up, you know sure as shit there are gonna be TONS of new yellow lines all of the place.
burnte on September 12nd, 2023 at 16:29 UTC »
Line painting truck either didn't turn off the sprayer or it leaked. This isn't a big mystery.
projecktzero on September 12nd, 2023 at 14:59 UTC »
Sounds like something Kramer would do.