Minn. airport signage costs soar to $2.2M

MINNEAPOLIS, July 5 (UPI) -- The price tag for new signs directing motorists to terminals at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has soared to $2.2 million, officials say.

The Metropolitan Airports Commission says the signs are necessary because up to 20,000 people per year end up at the wrong terminals at the airport, which has a main terminal for commercial flights, the Charles Lindbergh Terminal, and another for international and charter flights, the Hubert H. Humphrey Terminal.

Initial estimates pegged the cost of replacing the current signs at $1 million, but that rose to $2.2 million when studies showed some of the existing supports wouldn't be able to hold the newer, bigger signs, the Star Tribune reported Sunday.

"We drive by them every day; we just don't realize how much they cost," MAC spokesman Patrick Hogan told the Minneapolis newspaper.

One StarTribune.com reader quipped, "Give me a bucket of white paint and a brush! I'll make the new signs and I'll only charge $500k!"