Indiana beginning inspections of overhead signage structures.

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will begin inspecting the support structures for overhead signs on roads in the Lafayette, Crawfordsville, Plainfield and the Terre Haute areas next week.

In some cases, the structures that will be examined are above lanes open to moving traffic. To inspect these structures, the inspector may need to climb the structure from the road’s shoulder or use a bucket truck that will be parked nearby. The inspector will tether any needed equipment so that traffic passing below the structure will remain safe. In addition, the inspectors themselves will be harnessed to the structure with a double lanyard system. These precautions will keep the inspectors, drivers and equipment safe.

Dave Boruff, Traffic Administration manager for INDOT, said this method will be safer than closing the lanes entirely because of the inherent risks in lane closures, especially when traffic-controls are being erected or removed.

Collins Engineers, based in Chicago, Illinois, has been retained by INDOT to conduct the inspections on all of the state's 3,700 signage structures by the year 2021. Collins will receive $970,000 per year for the inspections.