Narrative:

Landed runway 26. Exited taxiway B. Ramp area between taxiway B and taxiway a had section which had been black-topped, and was cordoned off by a flimsy 'barrier' of inverted red buckets (about 6 inches in diameter by 10 inches or so tall) connected with a small cord. No barriers or construction lights. As we came in on taxiway B, a large group of 8 or 10 workers came out of a work area to my left and came out onto the concrete section of taxiway B. I came to the right a bit because of this group of men. We saw a B727 parked to the left of where we were to park, and it didn't look like we could clear behind him if we came in on the concrete, so I came further to the right, following a very bright yellow taxi line into the blacktop. We were now in the blacktop area (no bumps -- it was on grade with the rest of the ramp), but as soon as we went on the blacktop, we saw the 'buckets' and cord, which led us to believe they didn't want us to be using the blacktop for taxiing. Tower never said a word about it the whole time, so maybe it was not an issue after all, and I'm just paranoid. We taxied across the blacktop area, rejoined the concrete at taxiway a, and parked. No one ever said a word, but our agent asked for our FAA license numbers just before we pushed back. I think if there had been construction barriers or flashing yellow lights, we might have seen the barrier sooner and not used the area. As I said, this may be a non-event, but I'm documenting it just in case.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 PIC TAXIES ONTO NEWLY BLACK TOPPED RAMP NEAR A TEMPORARY BARRIER THAT WAS A NON STANDARD TYPE AND HAD NOT BEEN MENTIONED BY TWR AT ZZZ, US.

Narrative: LANDED RWY 26. EXITED TXWY B. RAMP AREA BTWN TXWY B AND TXWY A HAD SECTION WHICH HAD BEEN BLACK-TOPPED, AND WAS CORDONED OFF BY A FLIMSY 'BARRIER' OF INVERTED RED BUCKETS (ABOUT 6 INCHES IN DIAMETER BY 10 INCHES OR SO TALL) CONNECTED WITH A SMALL CORD. NO BARRIERS OR CONSTRUCTION LIGHTS. AS WE CAME IN ON TXWY B, A LARGE GROUP OF 8 OR 10 WORKERS CAME OUT OF A WORK AREA TO MY L AND CAME OUT ONTO THE CONCRETE SECTION OF TXWY B. I CAME TO THE R A BIT BECAUSE OF THIS GROUP OF MEN. WE SAW A B727 PARKED TO THE L OF WHERE WE WERE TO PARK, AND IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE WE COULD CLR BEHIND HIM IF WE CAME IN ON THE CONCRETE, SO I CAME FURTHER TO THE R, FOLLOWING A VERY BRIGHT YELLOW TAXI LINE INTO THE BLACKTOP. WE WERE NOW IN THE BLACKTOP AREA (NO BUMPS -- IT WAS ON GRADE WITH THE REST OF THE RAMP), BUT AS SOON AS WE WENT ON THE BLACKTOP, WE SAW THE 'BUCKETS' AND CORD, WHICH LED US TO BELIEVE THEY DIDN'T WANT US TO BE USING THE BLACKTOP FOR TAXIING. TWR NEVER SAID A WORD ABOUT IT THE WHOLE TIME, SO MAYBE IT WAS NOT AN ISSUE AFTER ALL, AND I'M JUST PARANOID. WE TAXIED ACROSS THE BLACKTOP AREA, REJOINED THE CONCRETE AT TXWY A, AND PARKED. NO ONE EVER SAID A WORD, BUT OUR AGENT ASKED FOR OUR FAA LICENSE NUMBERS JUST BEFORE WE PUSHED BACK. I THINK IF THERE HAD BEEN CONSTRUCTION BARRIERS OR FLASHING YELLOW LIGHTS, WE MIGHT HAVE SEEN THE BARRIER SOONER AND NOT USED THE AREA. AS I SAID, THIS MAY BE A NON-EVENT, BUT I'M DOCUMENTING IT JUST IN CASE.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.