Vandals strike again on highway signs in KCK

A highway sign off I-35 between Southwest Boulevard and 7th Street Trafficway in Kansas City, Kan., has been tagged with graffiti, and is expected to cost $1,000 to $1,500 to repair, according to state highway officials. (KDOT photo)

The overhead sign structure located off I-35 between Southwest Boulevard and 7th Street Trafficway in Kansas City, Kan., has been tagged, according to state highway officials.

Within the next month, as weather permits and schedules allow, Kansas Department of Transportation maintenance crews will complete repair work on this pair of signs by covering the graffiti with green sign sheeting, a spokesman said.

There will be at least two lanes closed on I-35 during the day while repair work is completed. At the time of the repair, the catwalks and ladders will be removed from the overhead sign structure, the spokesman said. Estimated cost for repair to these two signs: $1,000-$1,500.

Last August, two highway signs were tagged with graffiti on I-35 near Southwest Boulevard. The state repaired the signs at a cost of $6,500 in November of last year. When they repaired the signs, crews removed ladders to them.

A KDOT spokesman said that in the Wyandotte County area, KDOT crews previously have removed catwalks and ladders on a portion of eastbound I-70 and the ladders along a portion of westbound I-70 to help deter further graffiti incidents.

Last year two signs on I-35 were tagged. It cost about $6,500 to repair them. (File photo from KDOT)