Secret codes that save our lives
E ver wonder what all the marks on the sidewalk mean? There’s a handful of different colors and shapes that could potential unlock a secret code seemingly understood by only construction workers.
Would knowing this information help the average person throughout their day? Or is it somewhat irrelevant unless you plan to erect a building in that spot?
According to popularmechanics.com, this secret code, which only a handful of people can decipher actually saves our lives everyday. Colored symbols and flags near construction zone prevent accidents like ruptured gas lines and water breaks.
The Smithsonian Magazine reported that this codified construction language was created in 1976 after workers cut through a petroleum pipeline that destroyed half a city block. After the incident, the system known as DigAlert was created to create common signals to avoid such disasters.
Today, anyone who is planning on digging, building or destroying any part of the city must make a phone call to the city. City officials then send out personnel to mark this streets with this secret language in order to warn construction workers of the underlying pipes, lines and areas to avoid. The workers then have a window of time when the symbols are visible to begin construction before the markings fade away.
Failure to call ahead and work before the markings fade can be a felony. For construction workers, there is a simple key in which color matters the most. American Public Works Association created the color code to unify the language across the country.
- RED: electric power lines, cables, conduit and lighting cables
- YELLOW: gas, oil, steam, petroleum or gaseous materials
- ORANGE: communication, alarm or signal lines, cables or conduit
- BLUE: portable water
- GREEN: sewers and drain lines
- PURPLE: reclaimed water, irrigation and slurry lines
- PINK: temporary survey marking
- WHITE: proposed excavation
For example, the purple markings featured above signal to workers that there is a reclaimed water area, irrigation and slurry lines below the sidewalk. The symbols, which are more complicated to decipher tell the construction workers which direction the lines run, how many there are and how they are connected. These symbols vary from state to state so there is no one code for construction workers to use, but supposedly they are so familiar with markings that they can decode them without a guide.
