They’re pretty big signs, but they’re void of any information. It’s like a ‘Coming Soon’ sign.”

John Vitkevich

PORTSMOUTH — They started sprouting up a couple of months ago: large blue road signs reminding drivers of the R.I. Department of Transportation’s (RIDOT) RhodeWorks project that starts in 2017. Gov. Gina Raimondo’s name appears at the bottom.

Local resident John Vitkevich wants them gone. He calls them unsafe, unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers’ money.

One Portsmouth sign, in particular, has drawn his ire. It’s at the bottom of Sprague Street at the corner of East Main Road.

“When I saw that sign on Sprague Street, I went ballistic,” said Mr. Vitkevich, who’s known for his previous efforts to get tolls on the new Sakonnet Bridge squashed. “If you or one of your family members came down Sprague Street and it was a little icy out, where’s your car going to go? Right into that sign. That sign is dangerous.”

Besides the safety issues, he doesn’t understand the need for the placards.

“The signs say nothing. They say ‘RhodeWorks’ and underneath, ‘Governor Raimondo.’ Don’t we all know who our governor is?” said Mr. Vitkevich, adding he wants fewer signs, not more. 

“They’re pretty big signs, but they’re void of any information,” said Mr. Vitkevich, noting the signs are 48x96 inches in dimension. “It’s like a ‘Coming Soon’ sign. It just makes us look incompetent that we have to have a sign up to let people know we’re fixing the roads. They’re subliminal.”

Charles St. Martin, RIDOT’s chief public affairs officer, said the signs are needed to keep the public informed.

“The RhodeWorks signs are an important indicator of our accountability to the public in managing projects and delivering them on time and on budget,” Mr. Martin stated in an e-mail Wednesday to The Portsmouth Times. “They keep everyone involved with our projects honest. The signs hold us to a higher standard, and are updated to reflect changes in project cost and schedule so the public can monitor the progress of our work.”

More than 200 signs

Mr. Vitkevich also questions why a RhodeWorks sign would go up on Sprague Street when the town is not aware of any improvements happening on that road until possibly 2020.

Mr. Vitkevich filed an open records request with RIDOT, asking the agency how many of these signs had been installed, their locations, how much they’re costing taxpayers and the source of the funding. 

RIDOT responded by furnishing a list of 166 signs and their locations — including six in Portsmouth — as of Oct. 28. Mr. Vitkevich said his other questions weren’t answered, however, and he’s appealing to RIDOT Director Peter Alviti.

As for that Sprague Street sign, Mr. Vitkevich said it isn’t even included on the list RIDOT sent him. It was installed afterward, which is why he thinks more are coming.

“Let’s just make believe each one of these signs is $1,000 — times 166 of them. I’d rather see that money be used on a construction site with people working on a project. I’d rather see that money go to Atria Aquidneck Place for a traffic light,” he said. (An elderly woman was recently struck by a car and badly hurt while walking on East Main Road in front of the assisted living facility.)

Mr. St. Martin acknowledged Wednesday that “more than 200 signs” have been installed so far, but that the expense is far lower than what Mr. Vitkevich suggested.

“The sign materials will be reused when projects are finished and new ones begin,” he stated. “The net cost is $135 per sign. The signs are made and installed using in-house forces, keeping costs low. RIDOT believes providing this level of transparency is well worth the cost of the signage.

Urges action

Mr. Vitkevich said his frustration can be summed up by a Canadian rock group’s hit song from 1971.

“Don’t forget the Five Man Electrical Band: ‘Sign, sign, everywhere a sign,’” he said, quoting the lyrics from the song “Signs.” (It continues, “Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind.”)

He urged anyone who has a problem with the signs to call RIDOT at 401/222-2450 to complain.