Barbed Wire Puts Wraps on Graffiti

A new weapon against graffiti has been added to the standard arsenal of sandblasters and paint brushes--barbed wire.

Under a pilot project by Caltrans, about 50 large freeway signs have been cleaned of graffiti and ringed with barbed wire and razor wire, a flatter, knife-sharp version of barbed wire. The wire is being wrapped around freeway sign poles and woven through catwalks in an effort to discourage graffiti vandals.

So far, transportation officials said, it seems to be working. “No graffiti has come back, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” said Stan Lisiewicz, Caltrans deputy district director for construction and maintenance.

Caltrans representatives said they decided on the new approach after receiving telephone calls from elected officials and a letter from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors calling for steps to prevent defacing of freeway signs.

In late March, Caltrans crews began cleaning about six signs a day and installing the wire. The initial effort ends this week. “We like to evaluate a pilot project before we do it en masse,” said John Allison, chief of Caltrans’ maintenance division in Sacramento.

Funds to pay for the project are being diverted from other Caltrans accounts, but agency officials did not know how much it will cost. Caltrans officials also said they do not know how many of the 2,933 signs on freeways in Los Angeles County need to be cleaned up.

“We don’t have to count them,” Lisiewicz said. “We just go to the next sign.”

Also, Caltrans is making a big push this week to rid all freeway walls and overpasses of graffiti.