First Posted: 3/24/2015
LIMA — Though some days may not feel like it, spring weather is right around the corner.
As the temperatures rise, so does the number of construction projects in the area.
The majority of accidents along the Interstate 75 reconstruction project have been caused by speeding motorists, said Luke Johansen, project engineer with the Ohio Department of Transportation. For the I-75 project “the main point is that people just need to slow down.”
The project reaches from the Auglaize County line to Fourth Street in Lima.
As drivers approach construction zones, a decrease of speed by 10 miles per hour is mandated by law for the safety of the drivers and the construction workers, Johansen said throughout the construction corridor.
It’s tricky to continuously monitor vehicles’ speeds in construction areas because of tight spots and limited spaces on the sides of the highway, said Lt. Les Brode with the Ohio State Highway Patrol. With the help of radar guns and helicopter patrol, law enforcement is able to enforce speed in construction areas.
Speeding tickets increase in fines in construction zones, Brode said. If workers are working in the area when a motorist is speeding, it can cause their fines to increase as well.
“I know the speed limit signs say 55 mph but that doesn’t mean you have to do 55 mph, you can always slow down and get through the work area or construction zone slower, but you’ll get through it safer,” Brode said.
Changing lanes, entering construction zones northbound and southbound are also issues for drivers, Johansen said.
“Make sure you stay off your cellphones and those kinds of things, because that seems to be a problem,” he said, noting drivers who drive into the median of the highway.
Roads are also rough through construction zones, Brode said. “It tends to throw your vehicle from side-to-side a little bit and if you’re going too fast and you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing, it could make you drift over to other lanes and that’s how we get accidents with side-swiping,” he said.
Johansen warns drivers of construction vehicles entering and exiting construction zones, as they are going to increase in frequency with the season.
National Work Zone Safety Week is this week.
