New “Welcome to Montana” signs are starting to sprout up across the state, replacing the old signs that greeted visitors to the state since the 1980s.

The new signs were first unveiled by Governor Steve Bullock back in January and were created in-house as a result of a partnership between the Montana Department of Transportation and the Montana Department of Commerce.

While I like the idea of incorporating beautiful, scenic photos of Montana into the new sign, I wonder how easily drivers will see the beautiful photographs of Montana and thin, low-contrast lettering when they are driving by the signs at 75 miles per hour. While the old signs were certainly long in the tooth, at least they were easy to read when you crossed the border into Montana.

What’s more, because the signs were created in-house, I wonder who the Montana photographers are the took the photos. Are they even from Montana? Also, were the photographers paid for these images? Or did they just merely dust off some stock photos of Montana that they had in their collection to create the signs? Whatever the answer, I’m betting those photographers weren’t paid much (if at all).

What do you think? Do you think drivers will see the signs just as well as the old ones?