CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Road signs matter to drivers and the spokesperson for the West Virginia Division of Highways said that is why scheduled sign replacement work is necessary.
“We can’t wait for those signs to go silent,” Carrie Bly said in defense of the federally-funded $1.4 million sign replacement project that’s underway along Interstate 79 between Charleston in Kanawha County and Wallback in Clay County.
Many of the signs, she noted, have been in place for 22 years.
“While it may not look like they need to be replaced to the naked eye, these signs, you have to think during nighttime driving, if there is dew on them, fog or even rain and snow conditions, those signs aren’t as visible as they should be,” she said.
Several Republican lawmakers are asking the DOH for proof the signs are defective enough to warrant immediate replacement.
Earlier this week, Delegate Gary Howell (R-Mineral, 56) argued that, at a time of tight road budgets when so many other road problems are waiting, such signs should not be the priorities.
“I know that pavements and potholes are the most visible (road issues), but we have many other responsibilities including slip and slide repairs and guardrail replacement and signage and it’s (all) very important,” Bly answered when asked about those kinds of complaints.
On Tuesday’s MetroNews “Talkline,” Bly said the DOH spends about $3.5 million total on sign replacement and maintenance each year, or roughly 1 percent of the annual federal allocation to West Virginia.
“When you look at the big picture, it’s a drop in a bucket for a project that’s going to last 20-plus years.”
In some areas along Interstate 79, the new signs are being installed next to the older, nearly identical signs for exits, mile markers and speed limits that have not yet been removed.
The sign work is scheduled to be finished before the end of 2015.