Welcome back, A.C. welcome sign

ATLANTIC CITY - See, Atlantic City does want you.

The saga of the A.C. Expressway Welcome Sign - yanked down abruptly by the South Jersey Transportation Authority last week over permits - reached an amicable conclusion Wednesday as a new sign was installed - on orders of the state Department of Transportation.

Crews put the new sign - with this season's green and purple "Entertainment Capital of the Jersey Shore" brand - back on the iconic, decades old, spot over the Atlantic City Expressway, just east of Exit 2.

The sign replaced the old "One Mile to a Million Miles Away" sign that was removed last week after SJTA bureaucrats questioned its lack of permits. (Still partly visible on the reverse side is the old "Always Turned On" slogan.)

After public outcry and complaints by Mayor Don Guardian and others, the head of the state DOT, Jamie Fox, who is also chairman of the South Jersey Transportation Authority, ordered the sign - which city marketers get as a courtesy - put back in advance of Memorial Day.

Fox said the permit issue could be dealt with at a later time.

Fox's direct order led to a problematic Saturday crew, which - as disputes involving Transportation Authorities have been known to do in New Jersey - created a massive traffic jam.

Saturday's tie-ups as workers rebuilt the sign's base structure on the overpass lasted until about 3 p.m., leading to more complaints from casino and other executives, locals, and others trying to get into town, for A.C. ComicCon among other reasons.

Wednesday, a beautiful but not especially busy day in town, also saw some traffic tie-ups as the crews put up the sign, with crews blocking two lanes until about noon.

Sharon Gordon, a spokeswoman for the SJTA, said the agency had the crews out Saturday to prep the overpass sign base because they had anticipated a Monday installation. She did not explain the subsequent two-day delay.

Gordon also did not respond to the question of who made the initial decision to literally roll up Atlantic City's welcome sign. She said earlier that the original sign lacked permits because when it was installed, none were required.

But as of Wednesday, a sign was back.