This sign on New Cut Road should have been alerting drivers to road work being done in Ellicott City's Historic District. Instead, Monday night, it had a different message.
"We do not know who did this or why," County Spokesperson Kevin Enright said in an email. "For the time being we are adding additional security measures to those sign boards."
Enright expressed concern about the ability for someone to gain access to the variable signs, used to alert drivers to sometimes-dangerous road conditions ahead.
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"Changing a message on this type of device is incredibly dangerous for those who travel these roads, those who live near these roads, and for the people who are doing the work on those roads," he wrote.
It's also illegal.
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According to the Maryland Code, the penalty for "Interference with Traffic Control Devices" is a fine of up to $500, imprisonment of up to two months, or both.
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