Federal road sign rule too costly for Minnesota, says Sen. Franken
Washington, D.C. — Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) called on the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to reconsider a rule requiring the replacement of all road signs by 2018 and to make additional funds available to ease the burden on Minnesota’s local governments.
The rule, contained in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), requires all road signs to use new, expensive technology and include standardized lettering, which would cost Minnesota between $55 million and $76 million, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
“I ask that you revise the MUTCD requirements to ease the burden on states like Minnesota, which have made a good faith effort to meet MUTCD requirements,” Sen. Franken wrote in the letter.
Franken continued, “At minimum, FHWA should provide more flexibility in meeting the 2018 deadline and make additional funds available to assist local governments with the costs of meeting these requirements. I am confident that it is possible to craft the MUTCD requirements to effectively promote passenger safety without placing an infeasible mandate on states.”
Mr. Franken has received inaccurate data for this media release. The FHWA has allowed a great deal of flexibility for municipalities to comply with changes in roadway sign retroreflectivity standards, which is what this issue is about.
The improved reflectivity of the signs is an important road safety improvement, which will improve nighttime driving significantly. This is important for assisting our aging driving population. It is not very costly. The numbers referenced in this media release are substantially inflated. The changes have been estimated to cost around
$ 37 million for the entire country
FHWA allowed for enough times for compliance within the normal replacement time of signs and should be commended for working with the fiscal constraints of municipalities in mind.
Many municipalities throughout Minnesota and the rest of the country have planned for this safety improvements already and will have minimal fiscal impact on their budgets.