West Virginia to offer roadside memorials

By The Associated Press

Published: July 26, 2008

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Balancing safety concerns against the wishes of families of highway fatality victims, West Virginia's Division of Highways wants to offer the option of state-maintained memorial signs near crash sites.

The cost to the grieving relatives — $400.

"It's not about the money as it is about making it a safer situation for everybody,” said John Walker, a deputy state highway engineer. "Some of these memorial markers are hazards not only to the traveling public but to the people that place them. The maintenance of them present issues for mowing and the safety of the motorists.”

There is no federal law on roadside memorials, leaving regulation up to states and municipalities. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least a dozen states allow roadside memorials under certain conditions.

West Virginia allows people to place the memorials; the pay-for-maintenance plan is part of a proposed regulation open for public comment.

California, Colorado, North Carolina and Wisconsin are among the states that prohibit the public from placing roadside memorials.

North Carolina and Wisconsin instead encourage victims' families to enter an "Adopt-A-Highway” program with state-approved signs noting it's in someone's memory. In Wisconsin, highway adopters are required to clean the highway section a minimum of three times a year.

Among states that issue their own roadside memorial signs, Florida pays the costs for victims' families. In Colorado, a $100 fee covers six years, but the memorial signs aren't allowed on interstate highways.