WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) 鈥� A highway sign that recently went up in Delaware was noticeably missing a letter in the state鈥檚 name.
The new Wilmington exit sign on Interstate 95 should have said 鈥淒elaware Ave鈥� but was misspelled as 鈥淒elware,鈥� The News Journal .
Delaware鈥檚 transportation department and its contractor, Kiewit Infrastructure Company, say the sign was always meant to be temporary and has been replaced.
Exit 7 was previously closed for construction. A subcontractor hurriedly made a placeholder sign after learning the permanent one might not arrive in time for when the northbound exit was scheduled to reopen.
Donnie Arant, a Kiewit area manager, told the newspaper that the blunder was discovered after the sign was installed. It was not clear how long the error was up before it was covered Wednesday. The permanent marker was delivered earlier this week, so the one with the missing 鈥渁鈥� was switched out.
鈥淭he issue has been completely resolved,鈥� Arant wrote in an email.
Some people joked on social media that 鈥淒elware鈥� is how locals pronounce the state鈥檚 name anyway.
The transportation department poked fun at the misspelling Tuesday that it was a test for drivers, and those who noticed it passed.
鈥淲e were making sure commuters were (asterisk)aware(asterisk) of our signage,鈥� the post said. 鈥淣ow stop texting and taking photos while driving, and pay attention to the road!鈥�
The Associated Press