Campaign and ad signs not allowed in state right of way

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The Wyoming Department of Transportation issued a reminder Friday that advertising signs cannot be placed in the state right-of-way.

"With the upcoming elections, we’ve seen an increase in the number of signs our maintenance crews are having to remove from the right-of-way fence or from the right-of-way itself,” said WYDOT area maintenance supervisor Clint Huckfeldt of Thermopolis.

“Wyoming law and WYDOT policy prohibit placement of signs in those areas, so when our maintenance crews come through an area, they pick them up and take them to the area maintenance office," the agency official went on to say, in a news release. "Whoever owns the sign has two weeks to claim the sign, and then we dispose of the sign if it is not claimed.”

Wyoming statute 24-10-104 states that outdoor ads must meet certain conditions for placement. Fines and even jail time can be meted out to those who don’t comply with the law.

"This applies to political candidates, real estate representatives and residents advertising garage sales. Posting these signs along roadways is illegal within the right-of-way of rural highways and interstates," Huckfeldt said.

This procedure also applies to people who erect private memorials within the state right of way, or decorate an existing roadside memorial sign. The state of Wyoming has made similar reminders in the past year, for people to not put up campaign or commercial signage in this manner.

Business people and citizens who believe their signs may have been removed by WYDOT crews may contact the nearest maintenance office of the agency to make arrangements to pick up the signs.

This story was posted on August 12, 2022.