Senator Al Franken
Sen. Al Franken has announced a proposal to eliminate a costly federal rule forcing Minnesota communities to replace all road signs by 2018. Eliminating this rule will remove a looming financial burden on cash-strapped Minnesota localities.
Franken, who fought to eliminate the rule, applauded the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) proposal to end the mandate that would have forced local communities to pay up to $55 million to replace traffic signs. In a January letter to the FHWA, Franken pressed the agency to suspend the sign requirements because of the unnecessary financial burden it would place on Minnesota communities.
“I’m pleased that the Federal Highway
Administration has proposed to eliminate their unrealistic deadlines for the replacement of road signs,” said Franken. “These unfunded mandates would have forced local communities to pay tens of millions of dollars at a time when they can least afford it.”
The rule being reconsidered would cost Minnesota between $55 million and $76 million, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. It would have require all road signs to use new, expensive technology and include standardized lettering. In his January letter to the FHWA, Franken wrote: “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. At minimum, FHWA should provide more flexibility in meeting the 2018 deadline.”
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