ASK MR. SUN:

Do our cars make music on Desert Inn?

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Honda's Civic Musical Road

Mr. Sun archives

I heard Honda put down strips on a section of California highway that played the “William Tell Overture” when you drove over them at 55 mph. Is there something similar on Desert Inn Road? There are strips that seem to play something. What are they playing? — L. Ceres

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If the markings on Desert Inn Road could hum a tune, it would probably be Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” Alas, there’s something less artistic at work.

The series of stripes, near Interstate 15, are the remnants of a test to see what road markings best withstand Southern Nevada’s dry and dusty conditions while remaining visible.

“We know we have a pavement-marking issue — our markings get dirty within weeks of being put down,” Clark County Public Works spokesman Bobby Shelton said. “It’s not that they’re faded, they’re just dirty. If ... it rained more, it would help. Because we get so little rainfall they get dirtier quicker.”

The test on D.I. yielded no silver bullet, Shelton says.

And no music.

As for Honda’s musical road in Lancaster, Calif., after nearby residents complained about the constant noise, it was paved over. Fortunately, through the miracle of the Intertubes, the “Civic Musical Road” lives on.

Mr. Sun thinks it sounds like Rossini’s famous work is being played through a dented tuba.