PURPOSE: This rule specifies how the sign must be constructed and installed.

1. (1) Specific service signs shall be constructed and installed so that the exit number shall be displayed at numbered interchanges in place of the directional legend (that is, Next Right, etc.). Signs shall be constructed of Type 3, reflective sheeting with direct applied Type 7 prismatic legend and extruded aluminum panels in accordance with the Missouri Standard Specifications for Highway Construction. Department standard construction specifications shall be followed. Sign design will be approved by the department prior to installation.

2. (2) Supplemental directional signs for ramps must be constructed and installed as follows:

   1. (A) Supplemental directional signs shall be located on the highway right-of-way along the interstate or primary highway interchange ramp or at the ramp terminal with the intersecting highway. The exact location of the supplemental directional signs shall be determined by the district;
   2. (B) A minimum of one hundred feet (100'), or as approved by the department, is required between successive supplemental directional signs;
   3. (C) Supplemental directional signs shall be installed in the same order as the specific service signs, that is, pharmacy, camping, lodging, food and gas, as observed in the direction of travel;
   4. (D) Supplemental directional signs shall be mounted on supports and installed in accordance with the latest edition of the Missouri Standard Specifications for Highway Construction;
   5. (E) Signs shall be constructed of Type 3 reflective sheeting with direct applied Type 7 prismatic legend and extruded aluminum panels in accordance with the Missouri Standard Specifications for Highway Construction. Sign design will be approved by the department prior to installation; and
   6. (F) Distance plates shall be installed below each business logo showing distance to the nearest one-quarter (1/4) mile. Direction arrows shall be used to indicate business direction.

3. (3) Trailblazer signs shall be installed along the public highway for qualifying businesses, only if the businesses are not visible and recognizable from the public highway.

   1. (A) Trailblazer signs shall be located on the right-of-way of a public highway at all intersections where the direction of the route changes or where it might be questionable as to which roadway to follow.
   2. (B) The exact location of trailblazer signs shall be determined by the district. Where the road on which the trailblazer sign is needed is a city or county road, it shall be the responsibility of the business to make arrangements with the appropriate local government agency allowing the contractor to erect the trailblazer sign.
   3. (C) Trailblazer signs shall be erected in the same order as specific service signs, that is, pharmacy, camping, lodging, food and gas when observed in the direction of travel.
   4. (D) Trailblazer signs shall indicate, by arrow, the direction to the qualified business.
   5. (E) Trailblazer signs shall be erected on steel or wood posts with mounting height and sign spacing to be in accordance with the latest edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and Missouri Standard Specifications for Highway Construction.
   6. (F) The trailblazer logo sign shall be furnished by the qualifying business for installation by others.

4. (4) Business logo signs shall be constructed and installed as follows:

   1. (A) Only a business name, brand name, trademark, logo, commercial symbol or a combination of these shall be used. If a nationally, regionally or locally recognized commercial symbol, logo or trademark is available, it should be used in preference to any other form of business identification. Logo signs (mainline, ramp and trailblazer) are to be furnished by the qualifying business for approval by the department and installation by others;
   2. (B) Any message which advertises a product rather than identifying a business is prohibited. Any exception must be approved by the department. On gas business signs, the word diesel or a department-approved symbol for diesel may be included on the business sign;
   3. (C) Messages, logos, symbols or trademarks which interfere with, imitate or resemble any official warning or regulatory sign, signal or traffic control device or which attempt, or appear to attempt, to direct movement of traffic are prohibited;
   4. (D) Logo sign size, including any border, shall be as specified in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices except that mainline logo signs will be forty-eight inches by thirty-six inches (48" × 36") for all services;
   5. (E) The business (logo) signs shall have a white message on a colored background that contrasts with the specific service sign; however, colors consistent with consumer awareness may be used with nationally, regionally or locally known symbols or trademarks. The principle legend on the business (logo) sign shall be a minimum of four inches (4") in height on supplemental direction signs and ten inches (10") in height on specific service signs. When a symbol or trademark is used alone for the business sign, any legend on the symbol or trademark shall be proportioned to the size. The business (logo) sign shall have a white border. When symbols or trademarks are used alone, the border may be omitted;
   6. (F) The sign shall be fabricated from a single sheet of minimum sixty-three thousandths inch (.0063") thickness aluminum alloy, 6061-T6 or 5052-483 of ASTM B209. The aluminum shall be treated before applying the reflective sheeting in accordance with the Missouri Standard Specifications for Highway Construction. High quality Type 1 or Transportation Commission

Type 3 reflective sheeting, as defined by Missouri Standard Specifications for Highway Construction, shall be used in all cases and shall be applied with mechanical equipment in accordance with manufacturers’ specifications;

1. (G) Minimum reflective intensity for manufactured colors after sign fabrication shall conform to the requirements of standard specifications for retroreflective sheeting for traffic control, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) designation: M268-03. All reflective sheeting shall be Type I or Type III sheeting;
2. (H) The business (logo) signs arrangement shall be placed on a specific service sign, having two (2) rows of the signs in order of increasing distance as follows: closest, upper left; second, lower left; third, upper center; fourth, lower center; fifth, upper right; sixth, lower right. On specific service signs with a single row of business signs, individual business signs shall be placed in order of increasing distance from left to right. Relative distance of each qualified business from the interchange shall be determined as previously described at the time of application; and
3. (I) The order of arrangement for business (logo) signs on supplemental directional signs and trailblazer signs will be determined by the direction of the arrow. Businesses located on the left shall be designated at the top of the sign.

1. (5) Combination specific service signs and supplemental direction signs may be allowed as approved by the department.

AUTHORITY: Art. IV, section 29, Mo. Const., section 226.535, RSMo 2000* and 23 United States Code Section 131(f). Original rule filed Feb. 10, 1989, effective Aug. 29, 1990. Rescinded and readopted: Filed Jan. 3, 1991, effective June 10, 1991. Amended: Filed Sept. 15, 1998, effective April 30, 1999. Amended: Filed March 9, 2005, effective Sept. 30, 2005.

*Original authority: 226.535, RSMo 1972.