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Florida To Remove Interstate Emergency Call Boxes

DanTD
/
Wikimedia Commons

The State of Florida Department of Transportation plans to remove the state's 7,752 motorist aid call boxes from along interstate roads by the end of next January.

Boxes on I-10, which were among the 352 boxes along that route and I-95 in and around Jacksonville, have already been removed.

FDOT spokeswoman Gina Busscher called the boxes "antiquated technology" and said removing the boxes will save the state $1 million per year.

"There are a variety of ways to get help if needed," Busscher said via email. "Road Rangers patrol the interstates and cameras are posted as well as other Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) devices."

She also noted the presence of law enforcement patrols along interstate routes.

According to FDOT's websits, all call boxes, posts, mile marker signs and any other signs related to call boxes shall be removed by Jan. 31, 2014.

You can follow Patrick on Twitter @patrickhdonges.

Patrick Donges served as WJCT's Digital Content Editor from August 2013 - August 2014.