AUSTIN, Texas — Transportation crews across Texas are working to keep traffic signs clear and bright.

The City of Austin has been swapping out signs for newer versions. It’s the same marking, but more retroreflective for drivers to see.

“Headlights will shine on a sign, and the light will shine right back where the source of the light was. So when you’re driving down the street and you see the sign so clearly, that’s what retroreflectivity is,” said Lauren Seyda, the signs and markings division manager for Austin Transportation and Public Works.

The lack of retroreflectivity means danger for people behind the wheel, especially at night.

“As you’re driving at night, the retroreflectivity portion will not shine back at you, so you may not see it,” said Seyda.

One sign maintenance technician with the city, Don Molden, has been maintaining the signs for 22 years after starting his career in Arkansas.

“I used to work for the City of Little Rock, and I used to do the same thing that I’m doing here,” he said. “Installing these signs is great information for the citizen, and I take pride in that.”

Molden took Spectrum News to a sign installation site, where he was putting up a no-parking sign in a neighborhood.

“When we install this sign, we have a mapping system where we put a location on it, and then we have a maintenance plan which lets us know within 10-15 years, I have it on the sign last, we’ll come back and replace the sign,” he said.

Molden says the signs’ wear and tear over their 10-year period is mostly because of weather conditions.

Seyda says residents can also report their concerns to Austin 3-1-1 when it comes to signs and their conditions. She says the signs and markings division gets an average of 20 calls per day. On a citywide scale, Austin received 5,569 calls to 3-1-1 about signs from October of last year to this past September.

The city is responsible for over 200,000 signs, according to Austin Transportation and Public Works — a small fraction of the over 5 million signs statewide that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) maintains.

Austin is not the only city making sure signs are retroreflective. The city of Kyle is installing new blue and white signs to help make the markings visible at night.

The everyday task for Molden is one he holds high.

“If I can make someone travel safely, make them get home safely or go to where they need to go safely, that’s a win for me,” said Molden.