With the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s spring mowing season now under way, motorists should use caution and watch for slow-moving equipment on the region’s roads.

The agency also wants to remind everyone that private signs and advertising are not allowed on state highway rights of way.

As weather allows in May and June, crews will have tractors out on state highways mowing roadsides in northeast Kentucky counties – Bath, Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Fleming, Greenup, Lewis, Mason, Nicholas and Rowan.

Safety vehicles will move along with crews to warn traffic of mowers ahead. Please use caution and avoid passing mowers, especially on narrow two-lane roadways. When possible, crews will move aside to let traffic pass.

On four-lane highways, move over and slow down when passing mowing crews. By late May, contractors will begin mowing on U.S. 23 in Boyd and Greenup counties, on the AA Highway in Mason, Lewis, Carter and Greenup counties, on I-64 in Bath, Rowan, Carter, and Boyd counties, and other highways.

Kentucky law and Transportation Cabinet policy prohibit the placement of non-official signs or markers of any type – for businesses, political campaigns, yard sales or other advertising – on state highway rights of way, utility poles, guardrails, highway fences or on road signs.

(…) Illegally placed signs can be a safety hazard for highway crews and property owners because mowers can throw metal stakes or sign debris great distances.

Employees who remove signs are acting in the best interest of all motorists and maintenance crews. The Transportation Cabinet appreciates the public’s cooperation and understanding.

Allen Blair is a public information officer for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.