MONROE — An electronic sign that will display the number of days since the last serious auto accident on U.S. 2 has been put into service.
The $12,000 sign is the first of two planned to help remind drivers of the need for safety on an accident-prone stretch between Everett and Stevens Pass.
The first sign, activated Wednesday, is near Westwick Road, just west of Monroe. Another sign is scheduled to be installed by the end of June near Gold Bar.
The signs measure 5 feet tall by 8 feet wide and feature an electronic display that automatically counts the number of days since a serious collision. If a collision involving deaths or serious injury occurs, Washington State Patrol troopers will reset the sign to zero. Today is the 68th day since the last serious collision, according to the state Department of Transportation.
“We have installed similar signs on other safety corridors and we’ve heard positive feedback from the communities on U.S. 2,” said Lowell Porter, director of Washington Traffic Safety Commission. “People pay attention and notice the sign, especially when it goes back to zero.”
The signs had been planned for installation earlier, but a manufacturing problem prevented the first one from working properly. Some residents in Gold Bar objected to the location of the second sign. A new location has been found at milepost 32, just east of town.
For photos of the sign, visit www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157618792094795/.
For video of the sign being unveiled, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh9KG0YsTR0.
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