11 Investigates: More vanishing road signs discovered on major Pittsburgh-area highways

PITTSBURGH — 11 Investigates has learned that more of those vanishing road signs turning up, and causing confusion for drivers.

Chief Investigator Rick Earle broke the story earlier this year that the signs were unreadable at night.

Thanks to viewers who responded to our initial story in February, Earle has discovered some more compromised signs.

“Two or three days ago, it caught my attention, what the heck the signs look different,” said Rick Kent.

Some highway road signs on Interstate 376 West and the Beaver Valley Expressway have drivers doing a double take these days.

“It’s not good.  It makes you want to go and check your glasses,” said Kent.

“When your lights shine on it, it doesn’t even go, said Ann McAnlis.

By day they’re just fine, but at night, drivers can barely make them out.

“It’s blurry,” said Kent.

Over time, the elements, the rain, sun and wind have worn down the reflectivity of the signs.

Some have failed prematurely, others have outlasted their life span.

“Your headlights light, that’s reflecting back to the driver from your headlight, at night that starts to diminish,” said Stephanie Zolnak, PennDOT’s Traffic Engineer in District 11.

And even with the prevalence of cell phones equipped with GPS, the poor signage can create problem for drivers.

Earle: It’s a good thing you know where you are because if you didn’t you wouldn’t know where you are going?

McAnlis:  Amen to that.

“Not everybody may have their GPS unit on and it may be directing them in an incorrect direction, so we are the best information that a motorist is going to see,” said Zolnak.

11 Investigates discovered 27 compromised signs on PennDOT’s I-376 between Hopewell and Chippewa, and another 30 on the Pa. Turnpike’s Beaver Valley Expressway.

Like the signs 11 Investigates first told you about in February that failed prematurely on the Mon Fayette Expressway and part of Rt. 119 near Uniontown, the turnpike says these signs should have lasted longer, and she blamed a bad design.

“The letters were just kind of overlaid on top of the background sheeting.  Water got behind the lettering, which then basically makes it look black, when you see it at night it doesn’t reflect,” said Justina Wentling, a Pennsylvania Turnpike Traffic Engineer Manager.

And unfortunately, all of those signs were out of warranty.

The Turnpike and PennDOT will have to cover the replacement costs.

In light of these issues with those signs, the turnpike says the sign company has made changes to the manufacturing process and extended the warranty period.

“They’re not manufacturing them in the way they did back then, so I am pretty confident that we will actually at least be able to get through the warranty period,” said Wentling.

Many of the signs we told you about on the Mon Fayette Expressway last year have already been replaced.

And PennDOT plans to replace the signs on Rt. 119 near Uniontown in the spring at a cost one million dollars.

While most of the signs we showed you failed after only a dozen or so years, the Penndot-owned signs from Hopewell to Chippewa lasted a little longer.

We’re getting very close to 18 years so this is actually expected and we are planning for replacements of those signs,” said Zolnak.

PennDOT plans to replace 26 signs on that stretch of highway.

District 11 which includes Allegheny,  Beaver and Lawrence counties maintains 70,000 signs.

Every year, the goal is to replace 5,000.

“We really have an aggressive plan to make sure that we’re replacing signs so that we can give the best guidance and information to motorists,” said Zolnak.

While drivers know the signs won’t last forever, they were surprised so many failed so quickly

Earle: And you’re paying for it?

McAnlis:  Of course, of course we are.

The Federal Highway Administration sets the minimum standard for reflectivity.

Agencies are required to prioritize those regulatory and warning signs first, and then the guide signs.

And they could face the loss of federal funding if they don’t comply.

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