ROXBURY, NJ – Let’s talk about the yellow warning sign just ahead of that gentle curve on the county road you take to work. Do you ever slow your car to 25 m.p.h. as that sign suggests?

Didn’t think so.

Not that you’re likely to pay attention anyway, but there’s a chance the sign could be changed to 30 m.p.h. or maybe even a whopping 35 m.p.h. before year's end. There's also a chance it could be removed altogether.

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The county announced today that it is “embarking on a countywide upgrade to curve warning signs along county roads” in all 39 Morris County municipalities, including Roxbury. This project, costing county taxpayers nearly $300,000, is being tackled to meet federal government standards, said the county.

Getting Up To Speed

It noted that the project, expected to start in August and end in December is designed “to upgrade a curve sign network that, in many cases, dates back to he 1950s and 1960s and was installed by the state Department of Transportation.”

The county pointed out that “changes in roadway design and consideration of modern motor vehicles were key factors in the development of the new standards.”

That’s a statement that might lead you to believe recommended curve speeds are likely to be increased. You’d be correct in many cases, but the more likely outcome is that an overly-restrictive warning sign will just be removed, said Morris County Principal Traffic Engineer Debra Dellagiacoma.





“For the most part, many of the advisory speeds are no longer required as the advisory speed met/exceeded the posted speed limit,” Dellagiacoma said. “In other cases it was increased.”

Too Much of a Good Thing

In one of its publications, the FHA noted that too many signs is a bad thing. "The use of warning signs should be kept to a minimum as the unnecessary use of warning signs tends to breed disrespect for all signs," warned the federal government.

Nevertheless, the number of curve warning signs will actually be increasing throughout Morris County. For $297,953, LC Equipment of Tuckahoe will be removing 2,121 curve warning signs and installing almost 2,800 new ones at 870 county road curves, said the county.

That money is on top of $176,997 the county spent to pay for a consultant “to drive all of the county’s roads to assess curves and determine appropriate advisory speed and sign placement in accordance with the new federal standards,” the county said.

If you’re curious to learn the fate of a curve warning sign near you or on your frequently traveled routes, you can click here to see an interactive map showing which signs are being added or replaced.

The county roads in Roxbury slated to have curve warning sign upgrades are South Hillside Avenue, Howard Boulevard, Berkshire Valley Road,

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