MONROE — Two electronic signs designed to remind drivers U.S. 2 is a deadly road won’t be working for a few more weeks.
The signs are supposed to count the number of days since the last major collision on a crash-prone stretch between Everett and Stevens Pass.
One of the signs made it into the ground, but a technical glitch caused the sign to read “989” by day three.
Department of Transportation crews worked on the sign for a week and determined a manufacturing problem caused the glitch. That sign, near Westwick Road between Monroe and Snohomish, is covered with plywood. It should be working by the first week in May, said Meghan Soptich, a spokeswoman for the DOT.
Homeowners near the other proposed site by Green Water Meadow Road outside Gold Bar complained, and the DOT is searching for a new location. That’s not easy, Soptich said.
Workers have to run power across the road and meet environmental regulations.
The DOT hasn’t settled on a location of the second sign. Workers are reviewing several locations within a few miles of the original spot on Green Water Meadow Road.
The second sign should be up by June, she said.
The Washington Traffic Safety Commission paid for the signs, which cost $1,000 each plus several thousand more to install and maintain.
Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.
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