The Kansas Department of Transportation wants motorists in south central Kansas to be aware that some traffic signs – including stop signs – are missing along Kansas highways after being blown away by unusually high winds Wednesday.

Crews have been working since Wednesday to replace missing stop signs. It’s not clear when all the signs can be replaced. Crews are prioritizing key intersections. KDOT has identified where stop signs are missing. The affected highways include, but aren’t limited to, K-4, U.S. 56, K-156 and U.S. 281.

Two of the hardest hit areas are Barton and Rush counties. Areas of significant sign damage also include Pawnee and Rice counties and northern Stafford County. 

At one point Wednesday afternoon, KDOT closed highways in that region because of low visibility caused by blowing dust. The missing/down sign problem isn’t limited to south central Kansas. It is widespread as well across northwest and southwest Kansas.

According to a preliminary KDOT estimate, at least 100 stop signs were missing in the Great Bend area. Crews working since Wednesday night installed about 30 temporary stop signs in Barton County, and more will need to be replaced. The temporary signs are 6 inches narrower. KDOT is working to gather signs from supplies in other areas and is ordering new signs as well. Rush County lost an estimated 70 stop signs, which are also in the process of being replaced.

The high winds in some cases caused metal signs to pull away from the posts – shearing them off and blowing them away.