Transportation officials battling road sign thefts

Transportation officials in western Kentucky are dealing with an increase in road sign thefts.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said over the last couple of years the number of sign thefts has significantly increased. Some of the thefts have taken place within days of stolen signs being replaced. 

KYTC District 1 Chief Engineer Kyle Poat said, "While sign theft costs the taxpayers money, the main issue is the safety hazard that is created when a sign is stolen - - particularly if it is a stop sign. We have a location where a yield sign has been stolen several times, creating a safety hazard for everyone who travels through the intersection." And that is just one example. 

The thefts have been reported in all counties in KYTC's District 1, but several areas have been hit regularly. The Salem and Burna areas of north Livingston County, along with parts of Hickman County, the Symsonia area of Graves County, the Blackhawk area near the Lyon and Trigg County line, plus Marshall, and McCracken Counties have all been hot spots.

Poat said, "We have employees who commute to work who report clusters of missing signs that are up one day and gone the next.  Our sign crew puts up replacements only to have those signs disappear within a few days." Engineers believe farm equipment has been used in some locations to steal the signs, signposts, and all.

KYTC is even going so far as to work with local law enforcement to set up cameras to keep an eye on certain locations. They said that anyone caught on camera or in the act of stealing a sign would be prosecuted, and could even be held liable for a crash that occurred because of the missing sign.

Last year, KYTC spent more than $750,000 in the 12-county district just to replace non-interstate signs.

Anyone with information on sign thefts or the people stealing them is asked to contact Kentucky State Police or local law enforcement.  

Photo courtesy of KYTC -- A 45-mile-per-hour speed limit sign recently replaced along U.S. 60 in Livingston County disappeared within days.  KYTC District 1 officials are asking the public for help in efforts to reduce highway sign theft.