Replacing the Mercer Street Sign Above I-5
August 22, 2007
Replacing the Mercer Street / Seattle Center exit sign above northbound I-5 was a challenge to the WSDOT sign crew because the work required a costly and inconvenient shut down of the freeway to access the sign and the area remained vulnerable to repeat taggers.
When WSDOT had all lanes closed on mainline northbound I-5 to do a traffic switch overnight during the big I-5 Seattle construction project the sign crew had the perfect opportunity to install the brand new sign and a graffiti guard.
The removal of the old sign and the installation of the new sign and graffiti guard were safely completed in five hours overnight. The whole operation including materials cost around $9,500, a huge savings because the traffic control to get the job done was already in place.
New Mercer Street sign over northound I-5.
The graffiti guard was installed around the Mercer Street sign. The guard restricts easy access to the sign from the Mercer Street overpass. Similar devices have curbed graffiti on other signs around the state.