NMDOT will remove all signs posted on state road right-of ways

New Mexico Department of Transportation
27 May 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Marisa Maez
Communications Director, Department of Transportation
Marisa.maez@state.nm.us
(505)469-8243

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Transportation would like to remind residents and candidates and campaigns that state law prohibits any person from placing, maintaining or displaying any unauthorized sign upon any highway.

Especially during election years, signs are often posted on state road right-of-ways. New Mexico Criminal and Traffic Law 66-7-108, under the title “Display of Unauthorized Signs, Signals and Markings,” states specifically that no political sign postings are allowed on state-maintained right-of-ways, which are typically defined by fencing on rural routes and to the back of the curb on urban routes.

Signs that encroach on the right-of-way, including signs mounted to the fencing or signs/signal support posts, will be removed.

NMDOT maintenance patrols are specifically instructed to remove all signs, political or otherwise, that have been illegally placed within state road right-of-ways. The department does not discriminate when removing signs. Any item that impedes the roadway or right-of-way can be considered a safety issue to pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.

If anyone believes their signs have been removed and collected from a state road right-of-way by the NMDOT, they are welcome to contact their local NMDOT district office to collect the signs at an agreed-upon time and district location within two weeks.

The department does not guarantee the NMDOT will have the signs nor that they will be maintained in their original condition.

Questions can be directed to any NMDOT district office.