HARRISBURG — Drivers entering Pennsylvania will soon see new signs welcoming them to the Keystone State.
The Pennsylvania Tourism Office and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation are rolling out new, colorful state signs with the logo “Pennsylvania, Pursue Your Happiness.”
The first two new welcome signs were installed about two weeks ago on Interstate 80 in Monroe County, and on I-78 in Northampton County, PennDOT says.
“This captures the spirit of PA, referencing the famous call to ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’ that began with the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776,” said David Smith, Director of Communications for the Department of Community and Economic Development, in a release announcing the new signs. “We believe happiness is our keystone.”
The new signs will replace the ones that have been welcoming travelers to Pennsylvania since 1997. Those signs have reached the end of their life cycle, according to PennDOT communications director Rich Kirkpatrick.
The plan is to post 37 new signs at various gateways to the state — along interstates, and some U.S. and state-numbered routes. In Central Pennsylvania, signs will be located along Interstates 83 and 81 and U.S. 15 at the Pennsylvania-Maryland border.
PennDOT has manufactured 24 signs so far, and has shipped them to the PennDOT districts, which will arrange for installation. PennDOT is hoping to have many of the signs erected this month, and all of them installed by next spring.
The cost of manufacturing and installation is roughly $200,000.
