A message sign was flashing "Go Yankees" along Interstate 81 Wednesday near Pittston. PennDOT said it was the wrong message on a sign that is supposed to be used for traffic alerts and now the state is trying to find out how it happened.
A PennDOT spokesperson said late Wednesday that the sign might belong to a contractor who was hired to do construction work along Interstate 81. The sign is posted before a construction site and PennDOT believes that is a safety issue for drivers.
It is the message board at mile marker 178 on Interstate 81 northbound near Avoca that is drawing the attention of both PennDOT officials and state police.
The sign flashed "Go Yankees" to passing motorists.
Karen Dussinger of PennDOT said it is up to contractors to monitor their signs but PennDOT officials are looking into how the message got posted.
"The contractor has responsibilities for their own signs. They are governed by the same protocols. Whether that was something that was done as a joke, whether their sign was hacked into, PennDOT will look into that with the contractor because it is their equipment," Dussinger said.
The message board precedes a construction site and PennDOT said the concern is for driver's safety.
According to Dussinger, all message boards are regulated by the Federal Highway Administration, including PennDOT's.
Dussinger said PennDOT does have operators monitoring the signs to make sure they aren't tampered with. Despite that, she added, there have been incidents where profanities have been posted on message boards.
"And it happens and every time something like that happens, it's serious and we have to investigate and we have a protocol to check it out," Dussinger said.
PennDOT said it has been in touch with the contractor who said they will remove the message.
It is still not clear how the message was posted.
A PennDOT spokesperson said late Wednesday that the sign might belong to a contractor who was hired to do construction work along Interstate 81. The sign is posted before a construction site and PennDOT believes that is a safety issue for drivers.
It is the message board at mile marker 178 on Interstate 81 northbound near Avoca that is drawing the attention of both PennDOT officials and state police.
The sign flashed "Go Yankees" to passing motorists.
Karen Dussinger of PennDOT said it is up to contractors to monitor their signs but PennDOT officials are looking into how the message got posted.
"The contractor has responsibilities for their own signs. They are governed by the same protocols. Whether that was something that was done as a joke, whether their sign was hacked into, PennDOT will look into that with the contractor because it is their equipment," Dussinger said.
The message board precedes a construction site and PennDOT said the concern is for driver's safety.
According to Dussinger, all message boards are regulated by the Federal Highway Administration, including PennDOT's.
Dussinger said PennDOT does have operators monitoring the signs to make sure they aren't tampered with. Despite that, she added, there have been incidents where profanities have been posted on message boards.
"And it happens and every time something like that happens, it's serious and we have to investigate and we have a protocol to check it out," Dussinger said.
PennDOT said it has been in touch with the contractor who said they will remove the message.
It is still not clear how the message was posted.
