Workers have finished installing three large, monument-style welcome signs near the state’s borders that each cost as much as a house.

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) announced last week that it installed a “Welcome to Nevada” sign along Interstate 11, right after the Hoover Dam Bridge, at a cost of just less than $400,000 — the median home price in the Reno-Sparks area in November. The new sign, which is nearly 20 feet tall and eight feet wide, is made out of concrete and has the state flag in the middle made to look like the shape of Nevada. 

“Aesthetically engaging monuments like the new ‘Welcome to Nevada’ sign showcase the state’s unique heritage and identity,” NDOT spokesman Tony Illia said in a press release. “It also makes a significant first impression, stimulating tourism and attracting visitors while cultivating civic pride.”

The three marquee welcome signs are in addition to cheaper ones added by the Nevada Department of Transportation starting in 2017 to replace the traditional “lone prospector” signs that featured a drawing of a miner. The standard-size roadway signs, which NDOT says cost between $250 and $950, were designed by high school artists and were placed at 25 different border crossings.

The contract for the Boulder City sign, which is classified as a “gateway monument” according to the original bid invitation, was awarded last year to Las Vegas Paving Corporation.

The engineer’s original estimated project cost was between $300,000 and $360,000, with the final total being $396,090. Out of the original four bidders for the contract, only two had bid amounts listed with the state; the runner-up was Wadley Construction Inc., which proposed building the sign for $539,902. 

Some critics have questioned the expense, including former state Sen. Patricia Farley. As CEO and owner of Southwest Specialties Inc. and CEO of Southwest Supply Company, which specialize in concrete, pavers, masonry, and concrete coatings, the cost of the structure seemed a little steep. 

“When I read this article and the $400k number, I instantly thought, there’s no way that was over $100K in material and labor,” Farley said in an email to The Nevada Independent. “If you look at a standard concrete tilt-up building the panels are typically 8” to 10” thick and approx. 26ft to 32ft tall and cost approx. $15.00 sf installed.  Also, I noticed, the concrete color is also not a big deal and cost approx. $25.00 more per yard of concrete at the batch plant.”     

The other two monument-style gateway signs measure 14 feet tall and are located along State Route 28 by Crystal Bay on the north shore of Lake Tahoe and on U.S. 395 south of Gardnerville near Topaz Lake. One is rectangular and made out of concrete with the design of the state flag in the shape of Nevada while the second has a bottom half made of stone and concrete and the top made of slatted metal with the same Nevada shape as the others.