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Wildlife Warning Signs Installed On SR 40

    New signage has been popping up along SR 40 in recent weeks, part of an estimated $3.7 million project undertaken by the Florida Department of Transportation designed to improve driver safety and conditions monitoring.  Dubbed an ‘Intelligent Transportation System”, the safety deployment project covers 34 miles and includes the Astor area and points west.
    “The improvements include 50 solar-poward safety signs installed along a 34-mile section of SR 40,” said Elizabeth Gifford, Community Outreach Specialist with the FDOT.  “These signs are designed to flash yellow lights when wildlife is detected nearby, giving motorists additional warning and helping reduce the number of crashes between vehicles and animals.”
    Gifford said the signs have been placed in areas after input from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was obtained regarding animal movements, migratory pattern studies conducted by local universities, and a decade of FDOT crash data.
    The project also includes new pole installations, which will carry a host of sensors, and message boards designed to convey information to travelers.
    “The project also includes new concrete poles equipped with nine cameras that will allow FDOT’s Regional Transportation Management Center in Sanford to monitor traffic conditions in real time,” Gifford said. “Three smoke and fog sensors are being added to detect  low visibility conditions, and four new digital sign boards will provide motorists with timely updates about traffic and roadway conditions.”
    Installation of the equipment is underway, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, and the project will be fully activated once future wildlife-detection units are installed.  Those units are currently undergoing testing.
    Gifford lauded the project as an important safety addition to the busy forest highway.
    “This investment reflects FDOT’s commitment to using innovative technology to improve safety, reduce crashes, and provide motorists with timely information.”