The cash-strapped Mass Pike is paying two “sign hangers” more than $100,000 each to design and erect roadway signs even as state leaders consider a multimillion dollar bailout of the toll road, a Herald payroll analysis reveals.

Coupled with 51 toll takers driving home with $70,000-plus paychecks thanks to overtime boosts, the spending could spell “Trouble Ahead” for the Pike as it paves the way for new toll hikes.