@ibstubro Somewhere like Seattle is different though. And no matter how big a bulk discount you get on the signs, it takes the same number of man-hours to put each one up. Man-hours that are limited and often spent doing other things. We have a fair hunk of road torn up as part of a multi-year highway renovation tying up a lot of guys for a lot of hours, and that doesn’t even get into anything happening more than a mile from my house in the suburbs, like the proposed light rail expansion.
Now, if you’re making an argument that we should increase the budget to expand the relevant departments in order to be able to fix what needs to be fixed, I won’t disagree. However, that would probably involve a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts that makes sign replacement far more complex and contentious than you’re letting on. And since we’re already many years and a few trillion dollars short on maintenance alone already, I just don’t see it happening anytime soon. At least not in/near the metroplex I call home.