Why are new road signs partially blocked out by grey "paint"?

[bikingbunny]

Over the last couple of weeks the finishing touches have been taking place on the new Congleton By-pass in readiness for it's official opening on 19th April.One thing I have touched just driving the edges of it, I have noticed that alot of new signs have large patches of grey "paint" blanking? some or all of the sign out, whilst others have been left totally untouched. Anybody know why? I presume come the 19th this "paint" or what ever it is will have been removed. So what's the point of blanking parts out?

[fras]

The TRO will have a start date, so the signs cannot be displayed until then. That's my understanding, anyway.

[wrinkly]

I've seen it mostly on direction signs, where the grey is used to cover up roads not yet open.

I've also seen it occasionally on speed limit signs that don't apply yet.

It's not clear from your post what sort of signs you meant.

Before the days of grey paint, bits of signs were covered by what seemed to be sticky-backed plastic, and before that by metal panels secured by screws or studs, or even bits of sacking.

[jervi]

To be honest I prefer the way some European countries do it by putting luminous orange tape across the sign.

[FosseWay]

Round me they just put bin bags over the signs, most recently on a road near me where they were installing speed cameras. The signage warning of the cameras was covered with bin bags until the cameras themselves were ready to be deployed.

[Glen]

It'll be covering up something that doesn't apply yet.
If it's parts of direction signs that are covered it'll be the directions onto the not yet open road.


If they are some kind of regulatory signs it's could be new speed limits, or just the permanent speed limit while a temporary limit is in force.

[darkcape]

The TRO will have a start date, so the signs cannot be displayed until then. That's my understanding, anyway.

There's nothing legally stopping non-regulatory I.e directions signs being displayed however, its just poor practice to signpost a road which isn't open yet!

[Rambo]

One of the direction signs for the Warrington centre park link is still partially greyed out and it has been open over a month!

[fras]

The TRO will have a start date, so the signs cannot be displayed until then. That's my understanding, anyway.

There's nothing legally stopping non-regulatory I.e directions signs being displayed however, its just poor practice to signpost a road which isn't open yet!

Yes, of course, you're right !

[Lockwood]

There was a height limit added to the A3 southbound, which was mentioned on sabre ages back, and got painted out as an error.

I note that it is now unpainted.
Has the clearance decreased (no red "reduced clearance" info signs like NR like to put up), or has the paint just washed away after all this time?

[Fenlander]

The paint does wash off by itself after a while. We had this near here a few years ago when they were building the bypass, the existing 50 speed limit signs & repeaters were all greyed out while the temporary 40 ones were up in place on free standing signs. After a few months the grey started to wash away and what was left was a mess of 50 & 40 signs interspersed with each other.

[OLD GIT]

It'll be covering up something that doesn't apply yet.
If it's parts of direction signs that are covered it'll be the directions onto the not yet open road.


If they are some kind of regulatory signs it's could be new speed limits, or just the permanent speed limit while a temporary limit is in force.

Glen ,out of curiousity, is that photo you put up in Inverness ?Looks totally alien to me .

[SteelCamel]

That sign is on the edge of Inverness, at Tomnahurich Roundabout just before the (southbound) A82 crosses the canal. The painted-out section is for the West Link (A8082 - though the first part is an A82 spur), so this must have been taken just before that road opened. The Tomnahurich cemetery is on the right, and Queens Park running track is behind the sign.

And that sign will very shortly be coming down, despite only being a few years old, to be replaced by one incorporating VMSs for the Magic Gyratory of Tomnahurich/Queens Park/Torvean roundabouts and the two canal bridges.