DC9 CREW AT SFO TAXIING TO HOLD SHORT RWY 28R FOUND SIGN LIGHTING OUTAGE MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO SEE THE HOLDING POS.

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AFTER BEING ADVISED TO TAXI AND HOLD SHORT OF RWY 28R AT SFO; I PROCEEDED TO TAXI AS INSTRUCTED. OF PARTICULAR INTEREST IS THE LIGHTING AND SIGNAGE AT SFO. WITH MAJOR ARPT CONSTRUCTION TAKING PLACE IT IS NOT UNUSUAL FOR ARPT SVCS (MAINT/CONSTRUCTION PERSONNEL) AND THE TWR TO NOT BE IN EFFECTIVE CONTACT. IN THE PAST 3 MONTHS OF SCHEDULE OPS OUT OF SFO I HAVE FOUND REPEATED INSTANCES OF SIGN/LIGHTING OUTAGES WHICH SEEM TO GO UNRPTED TO THE LCL OR GND CTLRS. OFTEN THE CTLRS ARE NOT AWARE OF CURRENT TXWY/RWY/LIGHTING CONDITIONS. THIS SEEMS TO BE AGGRAVATED AT NIGHT WHEN VISIBILITY FROM THE TWR IS ADDITIONALLY RESTR. HOWEVER WHILE ENRTE TO RWY 28R FROM PAD XX MY CREW/ACFT ENCOUNTERED A RWY SIGN OUTAGE AT THE INTXN WHICH WE WERE TOLD TO HOLD SHORT AT. AT THIS TIME A B737 WAS FINISHING HIS POST-LNDG ROLLOUT. JUST PRIOR TO REACHING THE INTXN HOLD LINES. I DETECTED THE APCHING B737 WITH THE AID OF HIS LNDG LIGHTS; BASED ON THE SIGN/LIGHTING CONFIGN AT THIS INTXN THE ONLY INDICATION OF THE APCHING RWY WAS THE FACT THAT IT IS UNUSUAL FOR AN ACR ACFT TO TAXI WITH HIS LNDG LIGHTS ON. I IMMEDIATELY BROUGHT MY ACFT TO A STOP AND CLOSELY INSPECTED MY SURROUNDINGS; COMPARING THE CURRENT COMMERCIAL ARPT DIAGRAM. AS A RESULT OF MY APCH TO THE RWY AND SUBSEQUENT RAPID STOP; I ALARMED THE B737 CREW ROLLING OUT. FROM THEIR VANTAGE POINT I AM SURE IT LOOKED AS IF I WAS ABOUT TO ENCROACH ON THE PROTECTED AREA SURROUNDING AN ACTIVE RWY.