Advertising road work with stimulus money

[deathtopumpkins]

Those signs are crocks, every time i see one i laugh, the road is still in terrible condition and work has either been finished or been going on for a long time.

Probably because an ARRA project does not always constitute a total rebuild of the road. Projects such as sign replacement, guardrails, etc. don't involve any improvements to the actual road itself.

I don't see the logic behind your post.

[TXtoNJ]

It doesn't matter how stimulus money is spent, it just has to be spent to do its job. They could spend $7 billion on decks of playing cards and it'd still stimulate the economy.

A few people seem to have not read this the first time.

I think it is more a question of that statement being looked at but not seen.  This hobby in general tends to attract people from the right-hand side of the political spectrum, and that tends to go hand in hand with a gut inclination toward monetarism.

Which always amuses me - this is a hobby that involves, for the most part, massive public works projects.

[mightyace]

^^^

True.

But, for me, I have an interest in all forms of transportation to varying degrees with Railways and Highways being the top 2.

I'm more an idealist than most, but not one that will by kneejerk response not use something or study it because I disagree with how it was funded or who runs it.

(i.e. Just because I'm philosophically opposed to public subsidized mass transit, doesn't mean that I won't use it.)

[agentsteel53]

I've always liked these signs because they typically also include expected project completion dates for travelers.  I really wish that more states would include this information as I feel that it's important to provide this transparency to the taxpayers...i.e., those that are really the stakeholders

personally, I do not need to know at the time.  What am I going to do, run it by my accountant while driving down the highway?  It's like putting a website on a billboard.  Hmm, yeah, lemme go visit your website right this instant while doing 75 down the freeway.  

as far as transparency goes, I'd love to see a sign that says "Road construction. next 17.6 miles. Then 2.3 miles of blissful, uninterrupted peace. Then another construction project. 13.9 miles.  Three one-lane sections with flagmen.  Expected delay: 1 hour, 15 minutes.  Then five more construction projects after that.  When we say 'end construction' we mean 'subsequent sections consist of guys standing around but not actually doing work'.  But hey, there's a cutout 45 shield 22.4 miles up the road that we're taking down next week.  Have fun with those flagmen."

[MDRoads]

Saw another ARRA sign this weekend touting dualization of MD 404, to be completed in 2012.

[US71]

New Jersey has its own signs "Your Highway Taxes at Work," which contain a breakdown of state and Federal contributions.  These are not used for ARRA projects, but the stimulus sign is.  (Other New Jerseyans can correct me if I am wrong -- this is what I have seen in the field.)

I've seen those in Louisiana on the I-49 project. I'll be through there in a few weeks and will try to get a photo.

[MDRoads]

Another one on the MD 27/140 ramp rebuild project in Westminster.  Surprising to me, considering that Carroll County is as red as red gets in blue Maryland.