The N.H. Department of Transportation is ordering Pan Am Railways to remove a highly visible political sign located on a train bridge spanning the Everett Turnpike.
The DOT says it began receiving complaints about a political sign located near the Amherst interchange on Route 3 Monday evening.
The message, reading “TRUMP-PENCE-2020”, was being displayed on a large electronic message board typically used to alert drivers to important safety information.
“Based upon the complaints that our office received, we have concluded that the sign must be removed as it poses a traffic hazard to the motoring public,” DOT officials wrote in a letter to Pan Am on Wednesday. “We respectfully request that this sign be removed immediately.”
DOT says the political sign violates two different state statutes: it “imitates or resembles any official traffic sign, signal or device” and its location is deemed a hazard to passing motorists.
Pan Am didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. It isn’t clear if the sign was erected by an employee, and if that person was given permission to do so.
Pan Am operates freight lines throughout the Northeast. The company, which is privately owned, was put up for sale this summer.
