The Federal Highway Administration found the problem signs during its first inspection of Massachusetts’ outdoor advertising program in more than a decade, and reported its findings last week.
As part of beautification efforts that date to the 1960s, federal and state rules limit billboards and other signs along roads funded at least in part with US tax dollars. For instance, signs can’t be too close together, in order to reduce visual clutter and avoid distracting drivers.
Inspectors conducted a spot check of 42 signs along major routes in the Boston area in August and found more than a dozen that were erected illegally or without permits. Among them were several owned by the cash-strapped MBTA, which uses the advertising revenue from the billboards to offset its operating deficits.
For instance, federal officials said that the gigantic sign at TD Garden, which now promotes Budweiser beer to travelers entering the city across the Zakim Bridge, “appears to be an illegal sign’’ because it does not have the necessary state permit. Authorities recommended that the state either require the owner to obtain a proper permit or remove the sign.
