New York docked $14M for I Love NY highway signsJon Campbell, @JonCampbellGAN
Published 1:15 p.m. ET Feb. 1, 2018 | Updated 8:36 p.m. ET Feb. 1, 2018
Paul Karas, head of the state DOT, said on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018, that his agency was not submitting a plan to the feds in the coming weeks to resolve ongoing issues over I Love NY highway signs. The agency did four days later. Jon Campbell / Albany BureauALBANY - The federal government docked New York $14 million on Thursday for installing more than 500 I Love NY signs that violate road rules and state law.
The penalty imposed by the Federal Highway Administration is its strongest move yet to try to force the removal of the blue-and-white highway signs, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration spent $8.1 million installing in recent years despite being ordered not to in 2013.
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The $14 million will be restored if the state meets the deadline, Hendrickson wrote.
"Because of the installation of more than 500 non-compliant signs and repeated notification to remove these installations, the FHWA will assess initial penalties for non-compliance effective immediately," wrote Hendrickson, who was appointed by President Donald Trump.
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Cuomo’s administration first began installing the signs in 2014, six months after the FHWA rejected a request from the state Department of Transportation to experiment with I Love NY signs. The state rapidly expanded the signage in 2016.
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A USA TODAY Network review showed the state paid contractors overtime, printed some of the signs out of state and used emergency contracts to ensure they were up before the July 4 holiday in 2016, driving up the total cost to more than $15,000 per sign.
FHWA contends the signs are potentially hazardous and convey no information that's of use to a driver while driving. The state maintains they're safe and informational.
The signs contain a web address as well as various fonts and images that are all prohibited by strict federal rules that govern what can and can't be placed along roadways. State law, meanwhile, largely defers to the federal rules.
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