1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Bogabam Here. If you've ever driven on 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: an American highway, you know them. The big blue signs 4 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: near interstate exits showing travelers the nearest gas, food, and 5 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 1: hotel or motel options. They're officially called interstate logo signs 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: or specific service signs, but the place is featured aren't random. 7 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: A Scoring a spot on these signs boosts profits for 8 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: many companies and for the states to control them. As 9 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: of twenty nineteen, Tennessee napped about eight million dollars per 10 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:42,880 Speaker 1: year and Virginia got about six million thanks to the signs. 11 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: For the article, this episode is based on How's to Work. 12 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: Spoke by email with Jenny Campana, spokesperson for the Nebraska 13 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: Department of Transportation. She said, all highway signs serve as 14 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: specific purpose and their color is how you can easily 15 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: tell what the signs purposes, direction information regulations, et cetera. 16 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: These signs, in particular, are blue or informational signs are 17 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: regardless of what state you drive through. If you see 18 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: a blue sign, it's going to provide helpful information to 19 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: motorists as they travel along their way. There are three 20 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: basic types of blue logo signs. First, mainline, which is 21 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,199 Speaker 1: the first one you see. It lets you know certain 22 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: services are nearby. These are bigger than you might have thought, 23 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: typically about nineteen feet that's six ms wide by about 24 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: ten ft or three ms high. The second type of 25 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: blue sign is the ramp. This is closer to the 26 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: exit and indicates whether you turn right or left at 27 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: the end of the off ramp. Businesses that are clearly 28 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,479 Speaker 1: visible from the exit might not qualify for a ramp sign. 29 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: And finally, there's the trailblazer. This last and smallest sign 30 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: is placed at each corner where drivers should turn in 31 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: order to reach the business. Only certain types of businesses 32 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: can advertise on the logo sign lines gas stations, restaurants, lodging, 33 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: and attractions. Houst Works also spoke with Mark Nagy, a 34 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 1: spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. He said the 35 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: attraction category was added later for tourist attractions. In general, 36 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: the businesses need to be within five miles or eight 37 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: kilometers of a freeway exit, except attractions can be within 38 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: fifteen miles or twenty four kilometers, and they have to 39 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: be open to the general public during normal business hours. 40 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: Each state sets its own criteria, but usually the businesses 41 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: listed must have public restrooms, drinking water, and public phones. 42 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: Those that are open around the clock sometimes get priority 43 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,399 Speaker 1: over those that are open for fewer hours of the day, 44 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: and distance from the highway may count in some states too. 45 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,079 Speaker 1: In Florida, for instance, priority is given to businesses less 46 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: than three miles that's five kilometers from the exit, though 47 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: those up to six miles about nine and a half 48 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: kilometers from the exit are eligible for inclusion. Attractions like museums, wineries, 49 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 1: aggri tourism sites, and zoos are eligible for sign placement too, 50 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: but not churches, movie theaters, and adult oriented entertainment venues. 51 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: Applying to be featured is easy these days, you just 52 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 1: fill out a form online, but now being a spot 53 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,799 Speaker 1: is another story. Some businesses wait for years to get 54 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: a spot. In some urban locations. House to Works also 55 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,239 Speaker 1: spoke with Tracy Bramble, an information specialist for the Iowa 56 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 1: Department of Transportation. She said in the urban areas, it 57 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 1: can be difficult to secure a spot on the blue 58 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: motorist service signs or logo signs because they often fill 59 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: up to capacity. There's a limit of six spots on 60 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: the signs. She adds that all signs have to be 61 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: spaced at least eight hundred feet that's about two apart, 62 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: and must be placed directly in advance of the interchange 63 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: where the business can be accessed. Green and white guide signs, 64 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: that is for cities, highways, and major destinations of interest, 65 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: have a higher priority classification, So where interchanges are des 66 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: signed closely together, there may not be enough room to 67 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: install the blue logo sign and still maintain the spacing required, 68 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: and even if space is available, it can be pricey. 69 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: In Nebraska, for example, it's a thousand, two hundred dollars 70 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: per year per sign, so if you want to cover 71 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: exits in both directions, it would cost you two thousand, 72 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: four hundred per year. In Tennessee, the prices around nine 73 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,119 Speaker 1: hundred dollars in urban areas and six fifty in rural 74 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: locations per direction. New Jersey, meanwhile, can be as high 75 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,360 Speaker 1: as two thousand, four hundred in each direction. If you're 76 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,839 Speaker 1: a nonprofit organization, you'll receive a discounted rate. In some states, 77 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,480 Speaker 1: but in some rural areas, the blue signs often feature 78 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: plenty of open spaces, causing drastic price declines. In Iowa, 79 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 1: you can snag spots for as little as two hundred 80 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:50,839 Speaker 1: and thirty dollars in the right areas, according to Bramble. 81 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: She explained in Iowa, the fees charged are not commingled 82 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: with other road user fees, but are earmarked specifically for 83 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 1: outdoor advertising control purposes, including the administration of the logo 84 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:07,719 Speaker 1: signing program. Some states hire private contractors to run the program, 85 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: who are then allowed to set their own price structures. 86 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: Iowa has reinstated its state run program and has avoided 87 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: raising fees since. The biggest private contractor in the business 88 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,919 Speaker 1: is a company called Interstate Logos, which handles the fabrication 89 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,159 Speaker 1: and installation process for over twenty states around the country. 90 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: It makes most of its money from the sign permits, 91 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:34,039 Speaker 1: but it also actively markets any unfilled spaces in hopes 92 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:36,479 Speaker 1: of filling any blank spots on those big blue signs. 93 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: Naggie says that the Tennessee Department of Transportation gets of 94 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:45,839 Speaker 1: the gross revenue from the contractor it uses. Prices for 95 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: businesses can and do change once a contractor takes over. 96 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 1: In New Hampshire, for instance, the annual fee rocketed from 97 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: five hundred dollars to one eight hundred dollars per sign, 98 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: drawing ire from some businesses. According to a local newspaper, 99 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,919 Speaker 1: States initially began deploying these signs to provide valuable and 100 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: accurate motorst service information for the traveling public decades ago. 101 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: The signs took on even more importance as Americans began 102 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,680 Speaker 1: to decry the overuse of billboards and so dense were 103 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:20,040 Speaker 1: these unsightly clusters of commercialization. The President Lyndon B. Johnson 104 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: signed the Highway Beautification Act in October of nineteen sixty five, 105 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 1: which limited billboard and other outdoor advertising. States also took 106 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:32,040 Speaker 1: it upon themselves to reduce the number of billboards along 107 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: their roadways. Vermont took things even further, banning billboards outright, 108 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: along with Maine, Hawaii, and Alaska. With limited billboard opportunities, 109 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: companies still needed a way to get the word out, 110 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:49,479 Speaker 1: so states compromised enter the big blue signs. They provide 111 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: smaller businesses a feasible way to market their service at 112 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 1: a cost much lower than billboards, and thanks to their standardization, 113 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: they're easy to read as your zipping by at speed. 114 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:07,359 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article who does and 115 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: Doesn't get featured on Blue Highway exit Signs on how 116 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: Stuffworks dot Com written by Nathan Chandler. Brainstuffs production of 117 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: I heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, 118 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts my 119 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 120 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.