The portion of United States highway 54 where it enters the state on the Kansas-Missouri border, then west to the east city limits of the city of Kingman is hereby designated as the Veterans Memorial highway. The secretary of transportation shall place highway signs along the highway right-of-way at proper intervals to indicate that the highway is the Veterans Memorial highway, except that such signs shall not be placed until the secretary has received sufficient moneys from gifts and donations to reimburse the secretary for the cost of placing such signs and an additional 50% of the initial cost to defray future maintenance or replacement costs of such signs. The secretary of transportation may accept and administer gifts and donations to aid in obtaining and installing suitable signs.