Graffiti Clean Up May Cause Highway Closures

Thousands of drivers may have to sit in traffic jams because of graffiti left by what police call "thrill seekers."

The tagging showed up recently on a railroad bridge over I-77 near the John Belk Freeway.

Police tell us the vandals who painted these ten-foot-tall letters--could have fallen onto the interstate and died.

Detective Milton Harris tells us the cleanup will be expensive, and annoying for drivers. "We may have to shut down lanes and inconvenience traffic just to clean it up," Harris said. "They didn't have to do it when they put it up there. However, to clean it up properly, we may have to shut down lanes."

Police tell us whoever painted the graffiti on that bridge was seeking thrills because of the danger of the location and the risk of getting caught.

However, police believe they can catch the vandals. Investigators say they can analyze graffiti like handwriting. Comparing the graffiti to a suspect's handwriting could help them figure out who is responsible.

Police are asking for people to contact Crime Stoppers if they know or saw who wrote the graffiti.