In my mind, the sound of “Flight of the Valkyries” echoes through my thoughts as I imagine a sky filled with drones descending upon Interstate 5 (I-5) with their paint nozzles at the ready. This image, inspired by countless viewings of “Apocalypse Now”, is what I envision for the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) pilot program aimed at combating graffiti on bridges and overpasses.
Despite WSDOT’s efforts to combat graffiti, they reported that new graffiti would sometimes appear just days or hours after an area was cleaned. The agency spent $815,000 on graffiti removal in 2023, with workers dedicating more than 10,000 hours to painting over 700,000 square feet of graffiti. However, these efforts were not enough to keep up with the constant barrage of vandalism.
The solution? A drone-based system that uses a spray nozzle connected to a paint supply on the ground. Operators can position the drone anywhere a tethered hose can reach, allowing for quick removal of graffiti on tall structures like retaining walls, bridges, and overpasses. After several attempts and failures during initial testing, WSDOT’s newest drone is now operational and being tested in Olympia and Tacoma under licensed drone operators in the Pierce County regional maintenance division.
However, it will be some time before this technology becomes widely available due to state legislation requiring extensive research into traffic camera technology for monitoring graffiti removal. The Washington legislature passed House Bill 1989 in 2024 providing WSDOT with $1 million to research this technology further before implementation can occur in the long term.