The Washington-based National Association of County Engineers (NACE) has launched an educational campaign and companion grant program to help counties replace traffic signs to meet new Federal Highway Administration retroreflectivity standards. The program aims to increase awareness of the new standards and to lower the cost of replacing non-compliant signs.

NACE will post information on the new standards at www.minimumreflectivity.org. "Counties manage the majority of highway miles in this country, and a brighter, more reflective sign is a positive step toward improving our roadways for an aging population, especially on rural county roads where the majority of fatal and life-changing crashes occur," said NACE President George Webb in a statement.

The grants are available to NACE members only, and may be used to purchase signs from St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M. Information on the grants is available on the "Members Only" page on the NACE Web site, www.countyengineers.org.