| When one goes shopping, so to speak, for pavement | | | | reflectiveness rating of standard yellow and white |
| marking tape, one usually looks for material that is | | | | removable tapes is as satisfactory as with the |
| strong enough to remain on the road indefinitely, or at | | | | permanent tape products, since visibility regardless of |
| least for a projected period of useful life without | | | | time or weather is still a premium factor, and more so |
| wearing away, shrinking or otherwise deteriorating. This | | | | in the case of temporary tapes, because they typically |
| is understandable for conventional road marking, but | | | | delineate areas that vehicles cannot cross. The |
| there are circumstances where this level of | | | | exception is in the case of temporary tapes whose |
| permanence may not be the best solution. For | | | | purpose is to hide existing permanent lines for the |
| instance, some paths on a highway may be redirected | | | | duration, which are normally colored black and are |
| while a section of the concrete is repaired or replaced. | | | | intentionally non-reflective so as not to confuse drivers. |
| This situation necessitates that one use a material that | | | | In either case, the primary attribute of these tapes is |
| will perform adequately for the duration of the | | | | their removability, and they can be lifted from asphalt |
| temporary event, and then be removed with relative | | | | or concrete, either in large strips or wholly intact, at |
| ease afterwards. Paint would be a poor choice for this | | | | ambient temperatures above 40 degrees F (5 |
| function, not only because of its basic inferiority and | | | | degrees C) without using removal methods like |
| susceptibility to damage compared to high-grade | | | | solvents, grinding, blasting or heat application. This is due |
| pavement tape, but also because it would be quite | | | | to the interweaving fabric in the adhesive, which keeps |
| difficult to remove, requiring the use of paint thinner or | | | | it from collapsing or falling apart when it is peeled |
| scraping methods to make sure that no trace of the | | | | away. |
| paint is left behind. One must also consider that many | | | | Clearly, the temporary nature of the marking tape |
| roads use permanent marking tape already to | | | | does not prevent it from functioning optimally within |
| designate lanes, and the tape does not lend itself lightly | | | | reasonable parameters. The durable polymer that |
| to being painted over. Neither can more of the same | | | | comprises permanent tape is also used here, only in |
| tape be used efficiently, for obvious reasons. | | | | thinner quantities. Some brands of removable tape are |
| Fortunately, the manufacturers of highway tape also | | | | even outfitted with anti-skid particles that reinforce |
| produce and distribute series of temporary pavement | | | | them against wear caused by vehicles and weather. |
| marking tapes to respond to this need. Appropriately | | | | Simply put, the best classes of removable tape will |
| called construction tape to mark fixed-term | | | | only come off when you desire, and will perform |
| construction projects, these tapes have a useful life of | | | | adequately like permanent tape until they have served |
| up to one year, without compromising many of the | | | | their function. |
| qualities that are found in tapes of higher quality. The | | | | |