You Paid For It: Nearly $1 Million In Stimulus Signs

Statewide, nearly $1 million will be spent on signs designed to inform the public of stimulus projects.

"It's just a waste of money," said taxpayer Brandon Miller.

The signs are optional to states but pushed by the President.

"Let it be a reminder that our government, your government, is doing its part to put the economy back on the road of recovery," President Obama said.

The two signs on Transit Road are $310 each. But others across the state and around the country are pricier, some in New York as high as $5,000 each and some nationwide approaching $10,000.

"That's ridiculous," Miller said. "We could be spending it on roads and other stuff than that."

One U.S. Senator wants the signs done away with.

"I don't think we ought to be wasting money on that," said Senator Tom Coburn, (R) Oklahoma. "If we're doing a project, so what if it came from the stimulus money?"

And the local signs, which read "NY Works" leave many asking what that even means.

Still, a NYDOT spokesperson defended the signs, saying they show the transparency of the government in spending the stimulus dollars. However, the spokesperson went on to say the state is working with contractors to lower the costs, by designing cheaper, smaller signs.

A handful of states have rejected the signs; however, like New York, the vast majority of states are complying with the wishes of the President and the Federal Highway Administration.