Every day, drivers in the D.C. area rely on road signs to help guide them on their commutes. But what goes into making those signs? News4 went to the Maryland State Highway Administration’s sign shop in Hanover to find out — and we learned some interesting facts along the way.
Curtis Smith, a sign maker at the MDOT SHA, has been making signs for 26 years.
Sign makers like Smith cut the signs, cover them in color, carve them out by hand and, finally, give them the proper ink.
"The hardest part is setting it up, really. Trying to get it right so everything should be equal," Smith said.
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Smith uses a lot of paint in the process.
“I can’t draw or paint so this is the closest to being an artist," he said.
One thing that immediatley stood out at the sign shop was just how big some signs were up close. Speed limit signs, for example, are 3 feet wide and 4 feet tall.
Other fun facts:
- Sign makers had just 48 hours to make and install the new highway signs with "Governor Wes Moore" when the new governor took office.
- The keep right sign is the one that gets hit and replaced the most.
- The typical lifespan of a road sign these days is about 30 years.
How many signs does the shop make?
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“In 2022, we made just shy of 14,000 signs, about a 100,000 square feet of signs, and we did that with … four full-time sign technicians making signs," said Todd Jones, who oversees the sign shop.
