Signs costs thousands of stimulus money

OBLONG, Ind. (WTHI) - Millions of dollars from the stimulus plan help to improve roads in the Wabash Valley, but you may be surprised to hear how some of that money is being used.

The state of Illinois snagged more than $600 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for highway and bridge projects.

News 10 found out thousands of those dollars are not going towards the roads, but instead they are going towards construction signs.

A construction sight along Highway 33 in Oblong, Ill. has two construction signs stating how the money was funded.

It reads "Putting America to Work. Project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."

However, the cost of each sign is around $500, and with Illinois' 249 projects underway, that comes out to a rough estimate of nearly $249,000 of stimulus money going towards these signs.

That figure doesn't even account for the interstate projects where four signs are placed.

The decision to post the federal signs is optional and was made by the Illinois Department of Transportation who said they wanted to show taxpayers how the money is being spent.

"With Illinois receiving so much money from the federal government, it was important for us to show that the money was not being wasted, but improving the roads and bridges in their neighborhoods and communities," IDOT spokesperson Paris Ervin said.

News 10 called the Indiana Department of Transportation to see if they are posting the same signs suggested by the federal government.

INDOT told news 10 they chose not to post the signs stating they thought the money would be better spent on the projects themselves.