Speed limit reductions planned for I-5/Beltline

 

April 16, 2013                                                       For more information: Rick Little (541) 726-2442

04-99-R2                                                             email at: mailto:richard.little@odot.state.or.us  

                                                                            

 

Speed limit reduction targets I-5/Beltline construction zones

  

EUGENE/SPRINGFIELD— New, lower speed limits will be implemented this week on the Randy Papé Beltline bridge over Interstate 5, and on I-5 beneath the bridge where construction has begun on a two-year project to improve the I-5/Beltline interchange.

 

Beginning Wednesday, April 17, 2013, the posted, enforceable speed limit on the Beltline bridge over I-5 will be 35 miles per hour. The speed limit on I-5 near the interchange will be reduced to 50 miles per hour. The speed limit reductions will be enforced until the project is completed in fall of 2014.

 

The speed limit reductions are intended to improve work zone safety for all highway users and construction workers.

 

From 2007 through 2011 in Oregon, 53 people died and more than 2,200 were injured in work zone crashes.

 

The majority of people injured or killed in these crashes were drivers, passengers or pedestrians, not workers. The single biggest factor in crashes is driver inattention; that’s why orange cones, variable message signs and other tools are used to alert motorists. The other major contributing factor is speed, which is why work zones often require lower speed limits.

 

National Work Zone Awareness Week is April 16-19. To learn more about work zone safety, visit ODOT’s safety website at: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TS/pages/workzonesafety.aspx

 

 

Know Before you Go

To learn more about the I-5/Beltline Unit 3 project, visit: http://oregonjta.org/region2/?p=i5-beltline&expandable=3

 

For the latest road conditions, visit: www.tripcheck.com

 

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