New Design Coming for M-22 Road Signs

M-22 Euphoria by Christopher Cerk

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports that the success of the M22 brand has led the Michigan Department of Transportation to develop new signs to replace stolen “M-22” highway signs:

Michigan Department of Transportation officials have begun hanging signs that read simply “22” in locations where vandals have repeatedly stolen the iconic M-22 road signs from alongside the beloved roadway where it snakes along Lake Michigan’s shoreline through Grand Traverse, Benzie and Leelanau counties. The simpler signs are an attempt to curb a growing number of thieves who abscond with the traffic markers.
…James Lake, Michigan Department of Transportation communications representative, blamed the disappearing signs on the roadway’s fame.
“It’s certainly a popular route for travelers and there are some companies marketing M-22 signs themselves and other memorabilia and that seems to factor into their popularity,” he said.
Workers at a state sign production facility in Atlanta create the “22” signs at a cost of between $325 to $350, including materials, production and installation, Lake said. The cost for an “M-22” sign is about the same. Lake hopes the thieves will not show the same interest in the new signs.