D4's Pete Veenstra uses
80 lbs. of suction on signage

It is not easy for an ITD worker to put up or replace an interstate logo sign. The employee is hoisted 15 or more feet in the air by a bucket truck, then uses every available appendage to hold the sign in the correct location while also holding a drill in one hand and carefully placing the self-tapping screw on the end of the drill bit.

It can be stressful, to say the least. Extremely difficult is another appropriate description. Especially with interstate traffic whizzing by below.

District 4’s Pete Veenstra has solved that problem. It all starts with a suction cup.

This suction cup can withstand 80 lbs. of suction, more than enough to have one employee hold the suctioned logo sign in the correct location and another employee drill in the self-tapping screws.

The cups cost $4 online or $10 from a store.

“We would be saving $$$ on signs all day,” explained Veenstra. “Most importantly, it’s 100 times safer.”

Veenstra wants each shed to have a 4-1/2 in. suction cup, “for any shed that may need a better grip on a stop sign that may have been knocked over, damaged or needs to be updated.”

Published 03-22-19