Abstract: A portable sign, and method for manufacturing a display portion thereof, useful on highway construction projects for alerting motorists to road repairs, hazards, and the like, that is arranged to be easily erected or taken down, with component parts that can be broken down and telescoped within a tubular mast thereof, facilitating handling and storage. The portable sign incorporates: a base, that is formed to receive a ballast material therein; a tubular mast for releasable coupling to that base; a cap for installation on top of the mast; a cross arm that can be installed to approximately a midpoint of the mast, extending across the mast at a normal angle thereto, and a display portion.