Drivers on Old Town Road may have noticed new school speed zone signage near Ward Melville High School, crossing signs near the Greenway Trail, and others in the East Setauket area.
The sign upgrades are part of a $1.525 million Town of Brookhaven project that aims to increase safety on the roads through better signage, town highway superintendent Dan Losquadro announced Thursday.
Eighty percent of the project is federally funded while the town is covering the remaining 20 percent. The scope of the project also includes an electronic inventory of signs as well as a database of sign locations that Losquadro said will be "a useful tool to track compliance with current standards."
The roads chosen to receive the sign upgrades were approved by the federal government under its FAUS (Federal-Aid Urban System) program.
"This project will make our roads safer for motorists by making signs more visible through higher reflectivity," Losquadro said. "Breakaway rails will also be installed. If a motorist were to strike a sign with these rails attached, the rails would simply disconnect from the post. This would cause less damage to the car, thus making it less likely for people inside the car to be injured."
The improved signage around Ward Melville High School comes a couple of months after principal Dr. Alan Baum called for drivers to be more careful on and around school property. Baum could not be reached for comment this week.
Sheep Pasture Road, Gnarled Hollow Road, and Lower Sheep Pasture Road will also be receiving upgraded signs.
Losquadro said the project will be completed by the end of 2014.
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