Mayor helps crews repaint street lines

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- As the summer construction season gets into full swing, crews began repainting faded road lines. They got some help from South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

What prompted the mayor to go along with crews and help?

"To raise awareness of what goes into keeping our streets safe and looking good. And the other is so I could get a sense of what goes into it. I think if you are leading an organization and an organization does a certain kind of work you got to know how that work is done,” the mayor said.

On Wednesday, the truck laid down about 30,000 feet of paint.

Afterwards, they ran through one more time to pick up all the cones.

“I certainly have a new appreciation for it. It's harder than it looks. Both getting the paint laid down and putting the cones down and getting them back up,” said Buttigieg.

"It was pretty cool. He got to see what is going on and how we do it and everything,” said Aaron Shipley, a Traffic Technician.

All of the roads have to be repainted in warm weather so that the paint can dry properly. 

That only leaves the summer months for the traffic and lighting department to paint the entire city.

"I don't even think most people realize that for every inch of yellow or white stripe on the road, there is a crew of people who had to do that and had to do it well,” said the mayor.