Crew dispatched to repair botched highway paint job in Corner Brook

A Department of Transportation and Works crew was dispatched to clean up debris from a small landslide that had encroached onto the off-ramp from the Trans-Canada Highway to the Lewin Parkway in Corner Brook and to properly re-paint the shoulder section Wednesday morning. - Gary Kean

It must have been an interesting morning meeting at the Department of Transportation and Works depot in Corner Brook early Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, photos of a botched highway paint job created quite a stir on social media.

The images posted and commented on by multiple people showed how a crew had painted a white line on the shoulder of the highway on the off-ramp leading from the trans-Canada Highway to the Lewin Parkway in the eastern end of Corner Brook.

This photo taken Tuesday shows how a provincial Department of Transportation and Works crew painted a white line right over the black base of a delineator post, the orange section of which is visible on the ground further up the road, as well as mud and soil that had slid out into the off-ramp leading from the Trans-Canada Highway to the Lewin Parkway in Corner Brook. - Donnie O'Keefe photo

The white line was put down over mud and soil that had slid out onto the road from the adjacent bank. It also painted over the base of a delineator post that had been put in place to warn motorists of the debris on the road.

The orange upright sections of the two safety posts supposed that were supposed to be positioned on either side of the debris seem to have been previously knocked off their bases before the painting was done.

A crew was dispatched to clean up the debris and to properly repaint the highway first thing Wednesday morning.

A spokesperson for the department said how this occurred was being looked into.

“This is totally unacceptable,” read an emailed response from the department. “The department is investigating what happened and will take appropriate actions.”