Who says roadgeekdom isn't high culture?
Antiquarians know about palimpsest: this is where paper or other writing material has been erased for reuse, and parts of the earlier script are visible. We have the same thing in California, and call it greenout (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=793.msg39364#msg39364).
The term Procrustean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procrustes) refers to the practice of fitting different sized items to an arbitrary standard. Procrustes chopped off people's feet; Caltrans (much less harmfully) forces all panels in a sign to the same height (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=575.msg50725#msg50725).