Question: Two huge billboards went up on Interstate 41 just north of Northland Avenue in Grand Chute. Doesn’t federal law prevent new billboards from going up along interstates?

Answer: New signs can be erected along interstate highways if they comply with certain conditions, but these particular signs are in violation of state and federal law.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation confirmed that to me on Thursday, four months after I first began asking about the placement of the signs.

"We are in active discussions with the property owner to resolve this matter," said Vicki Harkins, outdoor advertising program coordinator for the DOT.

Harkins said ordering the removal of the signs is a possibility.

The signs are owned by Bergstrom Properties Inc. and are located on vacant land intended for the expansion of the company's Victory Lane Auto Mall. Each sign stands 40 feet tall and has a digital display board on top of a base that advertises the names of 19 auto manufacturers.

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The Grand Chute Town Board approved the signs in July, and they were erected a short time later. Bob Buckingham, director of community development, said the structures met all of the town's requirements.

"The property owner is responsible for any state or federal permitting, if there is any," Buckingham said in September.

Local approval doesn't replace or guarantee approval from the DOT, which regulates outdoor advertising signs in accordance with the Highway Beautification Act of 1965.

After learning about the Bergstrom signs, the DOT determined the structures don't meet the criteria for on-premises signs under state and federal law because they aren't within 50 feet of the business — a building, parking lot or driveway — that they're advertising.

No permit was sought for off-premises signs, the DOT said.

In November, DOT spokesman Christian Schneider said that to rectify the situation, the DOT "proposed a solution requiring the dealer to turn off the electronic portion of the signs and cover the additional advertisements until the signs are in compliance."

That proposal never was implemented. I drove by the signs last week — nearly three months after Schneider's statement — and saw that the digital display boards were in operation and that the advertisements were in clear view.

Harkins said turning off the signs and covering the advertisements remain options in the DOT's discussions with Bergstrom Properties. Issuing fines, she said, is not in play.

"It's our goal to make sure the signs are in compliance and not to punish people," Harkins said.

John Hogerty, executive vice president and general counsel at Bergstrom Corp., said Bergstrom Properties was acting under the advice of its sign vendor in thinking the placement of the signs was satisfactory and comparable to other signs along I-41.

He has invited DOT officials to the site to determine how the signs can be brought into compliance. He expected the issue to be resolved soon.

"We're working with them," Hogerty said. "It's very amicable, and I'm confident we'll come up with something that the state is happy with, if they aren't already. It's always our intent to do things in compliance with the letter and the spirit of the law."

Watchdog Q&A

Post-Crescent reporter Duke Behnke answers your questions about local government. Send questions to dbehnke@gannett.com or call him at 920-993-7176.