Sign vandals strike again on 18th Street Expressway

Vandals have struck again on 18th Street Expressway, obscuring a highway sign near I-70 at 18th Street.

According to the Kansas Department of Transportation, the right lanes of the southbound, then northbound, 18th Street Expressway, a quarter-mile south of I-70, will be closed for removal of catwalks and cleaning of graffiti from the overhead sign structure between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, weather permitting.

The overhead sign structure located on 18th Street Expressway Bridge over the railroad tracks in Kansas City, Kan., has been tagged, a KDOT spokesman said. The ramp slope pavement has been tagged as well and painted over.

On Thursday, KDOT maintenance crews will first remove the catwalks from the southbound side of the sign structure, which will close the lane for about two hours. Then the crews will switch to the northbound side of the sign structure to remove graffiti by cleaning it with a liquid treatment, followed by removal of the catwalk on that side, too.

If the cleaning does not remove the graffiti effectively, then this sign will have to be covered with new green sign sheeting, which will have to be ordered, the KDOT spokesman said. Additional lane closures will be needed at some point in the future if KDOT has to apply the green sheeting.