JACKSONVILLE, 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.
The line has been there since Friday, and it starts right at the Acosta Bridge.
News4JAX Sky 4 drone captured the line that extends for over 20 miles. The line crosses lanes several times and changes in width, but it 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.”
News4JAX confirmed that the line ends right at Acme Barricades near St. Augustine and found what appears to be paint in their parking lot. However, the road construction company has not answered requests to talk about this matter.
Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation is investigating how this 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,” Florida Department of Transportation Community Outreach Manager Hampton Ray said.
DOT 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.