OGDEN — Over the next month and a half, the Utah Department of Transportation will be upgrading or replacing 523 railroad crossing advance warning signs in four Northern Utah counties.

Beginning Feb. 9, crews will begin replacing or updating the standard round, yellow, crossing warning signs bearing the letters “RXR,” which warn motorists of a railroad crossing ahead on the roadway, UDOT spokesman Vic Saunders said.

Crews will start work by replacing the bases for some of the signs. That work is expected to take three working days, Saunders said.

“It’s a safety project,” Saunders told the Standard-Examiner.

“After this work is completed, crews will begin work upgrading signs in Davis and Weber counties over the next two weeks, followed by the signs in Box Elder and Cache County, Saunders said in a press release.

“The entire project should be complete by mid-March, with a total of 523 signs improved or replaced,” he said.

Railroad crossing advance warning signs help increase motorist and pedestrian awareness of crossings by improving safety, preventing train-car crashes and train-pedestrian incidents, Saunders said.

The ubiquitous signs are the national standard for railroad crossing advance warning as specified by the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, and have been in use in a variety of forms since the 1940s.

Motorists approaching this work should reduce speeds and be prepared to stop at any time, Saunders said. However, it is not expected that this work will block any lanes of traffic.

Contact reporter Bryon Saxton at 801-625-4244 or bsaxton@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @BryonSaxton.