Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has told an audience at a rural conference that much roadside furniture is ugly, confusing and potentially dangerous blots on the landscape.
His promise to get rid of them was welcomed by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and motoring groups, including the AA.
The CPRE said the focus until now had been on the forest of road signs in urban areas, but the countryside was also being blighted.
Mr McLoughlin, an MP in Derbyshire who was speaking at a conference in London organised by the CPRE, said: "Too many country roads carry a reminder of how insensitive planners can be to aesthetics.
"Ugly and unnecessary signs clutter up the network. New signs seem to sprout like weeds, without any apparent consideration of what's already there. Often what we're left with is not just a blot on the landscape. It's confusing and potentially dangerous too.
"There are those 'temporary' yellow signs saying New Road Layout Ahead that are left to rot for years. Near me in Derbyshire there's an ugly big sign by a beautiful medieval church that just says: No Footpath. It's on a small country lane. Of course there isn't a path. We don't need a huge sign to tell us that. So I'm determined to do more to sort this out."
Mr McLoughlin said a Government review last year had relaxed rules that used to insist on two signs by the road when one would do. Now it was working on revised traffic signs regulations.
He insisted: "The combined effect of these changes will be to give authorities and designers much greater freedom to simplify and use fewer signs at country junctions.
"And I want to make sure that they use it. So my message to highways engineers is: If in doubt, don't do it. Save your money for something that really matters."
He also outlined his ambitions for reduced speed limits in rural areas and significantly better transport options for rural communities.
Shaun Spiers, CPRE chief executive, said: "We are particularly pleased to hear the Secretary of State speak about the importance of ensuring that transport policy does not damage rural beauty."
AA spokesman Paul Watters said: "There's far too much clutter and it needs tackling."