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Double white dots on A3 - G (5th Dec 2014 - 10:23:37) Yes I may be stupid but has anyone else noticed these ? It appears that they are mostly under bridges and on the slip roads? any ideas

Re: Double white dots on A3 - Richard (5th Dec 2014 - 11:53:50) I believe these are data points for surveying the road. Paint being cheaper than the metal studs they used to be

Re: Double white dots on A3 - Ian (5th Dec 2014 - 12:06:24) Hi G, They are called node points and they are cored thermoplastic markers used on highways agency (and some local authority roads) to mark the end of a section of carriageway for database, survey and construction purposes. As you rightly point out they are usually in places with unmoveable physical objects for reference such as bridges or traffic islands and you will find them on all major A roads and motorways around the UK.

Re: Double white dots on A3 - Keith (5th Dec 2014 - 13:15:17) They are probably node markers, used by the Highways Agency to break the road into sections. Although they look like white paint, they are actually made of a strong plastic and glued to the road surface. Each one has an inbuilt unique reference so that when Highways Agency staff in suitably equipped vehicles drive along the road looking for faults, the node marker will have told the equipment in the car where it currently is (to within the nearest mile or so), which makes it quicker for when the works crew come along to know where to start looking for the reported fault. I assume at some point soon (if it hasn't already), they will be made redundant by GPS technology, but since the node markers are glued to the road they will presumably remain in place until the road is resurfaced.

Re: Double white dots on A3 - G (5th Dec 2014 - 13:46:42) Many thanks for such precise comments

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