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Fun Road Sign Facts

From the Maryland State Highway Administration’s signshop.

Published

1 month ago

March 20, 2024

Marie Adamick

PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO

Local NBC affiliate News4 Washington (Washington) traveled to Maryland State Highway Administration’s signshop in Hanover, MD last month to learn more about road signs.

Curtis Smith, a signmaker at the MDOT SHA (State Highway Administration), has been making signs for 26 years. Signmakers there cut the signs, color them, carve them by hand and paint them, according to News4. “I can’t draw or paint, so this is the closest to being an artist,” Smith says.

Here are some fun facts you may not know about road signs:

The “Keep Right” sign is the one that gets hit and replaced the most.
The typical lifespan of a road sign these days is about 30 years.
Sign makers only had 48 hours to create and install new highway signs with “Governor Wes Moore” when the new governor took office.

“In 2022, we made just shy of 14,000 signs — about 100,000 sq. ft. of signs — and we did that with… four full-time sign technicians,” says Todd Jones, who oversees the signshop.

Read the full article at nbcwashington.com.

Related Topics:sign companies in Maryland

Marie Adamick

Marie Adamick is an editorial intern with Signs of the Times. She is a senior at the University of Cincinnati studying journalism and is always listening to music.

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