CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – The Georgia Department of Transportation is cautioning political candidates and campaigns not to place signs on rights of way.

Signs that are found on rights of way will be removed by Georgia DOT maintenance crews.

Georgia law stipulates that the state Department of Transportation is required to maintain a safe roadway for the traveling public, which includes the immediate removal of any obstruction or hazard that may pose a threat to the traveling public. Any sign along Georgia’s state routes and interstates must meet safety standards and be permitted by Georgia DOT to be placed on right of way. The right of way is defined by the State of Georgia as "the strip of land over which facilities such as highways, railroads, or power lines are built and maintained."

“For safety's sake, there are laws about where such signs can be placed. The one place that they should never be set up is on the rights of way of our state routes and interstates,” explained DeWayne Comer, district engineer at the Georgia DOT office in Cartersville. “As part of our routine maintenance work; the Department will remove ANY and ALL unauthorized signs from our rights of way.”

Georgia Code 32-6-51 states that "it shall be unlawful for any person to erect, place or maintain within the right of way of any public road any sign, signal or other device except as authorized by subsection (d) of this Code section."

Signs that are removed from right of way by Department personnel will be held for 30 days and then destroyed. To prevent the loss of signs, do not place them within the right of way.

On Tuesday, July 31, voters will decide if 12 designated districts across Georgia will be authorized to collect a one-cent sales tax for the next 10 years to be devoted exclusively to local and regional transportation projects. In districts where the referendum passes, the Department of Transportation will be responsible for project delivery.

An independent study ranked Georgia DOT first in the country in on-budget project delivery and second in on-time delivery. Project delivery is what Georgia DOT does. Referendum projects assigned to the Department will be completed on time and on budget. For further information on the important Transportation Referendum, please visit: www.dot.ga.gov/transportationreferendum