Question:
Arkansas has some unusual speed limits set up on I-30 right now. Near
Malvern, they have something of a construction zone, they have jersey
barriers blocking the shoulders on each side and have a crane outside
the WB lanes. All the work zone signs are covered up. All except two,
that is. The reduced speed limit ahead and 60-mph signs. There is no
work being done (hence covering up the other signs), there is no change
to the road aside from the shoulders being closed for about 50 feet.
Why in the world would they post the 60-mph limit 24/7 for a full mile,
when they cover all the other signs?
And the beginning of the big I-30 project in Benton/Bryant/Little Rock
has a 60-mph limit eastbound a full two miles before the beginning of
the project area. This isn't an area that generally backs up due to the
construction (the construction zone has narrow lanes and no shoulders,
but it keeps two lanes open each direction as the road has always been
through that area), so why would they reduce the limit two miles away?
Answer:
So that everyone will slow down some before actually reaching the
construction zone and the inevitable area where the traffic will back
up? What is the speed limit through this area already?
70mph. Traffic doesn't really back up a whole lot in the construction
zone. Certainly not enough to warrant a 10-mph drop two miles before it
starts. They only drop it 10-mph about a half-mile to a mile before
places that are known to have anywhere from a 2 to 5-mile backup (where
they cut down to one lane), so that doesn't seem right to me.
The construction area doesn't back up any more than the area did before
the construction started, it just runs a little slower right now. No
ned for reducing the limit two miles away, that doesn't help the
problem. At least they aren't morons like TN, who would probably post
that whole stretch at 45.
Even here in west virginia , where the speed limit is 70 on rural
interstates, the limit drops down to 55 in construction zones still. In
Pennsylvania it drops from 65 to 45 in construction zones or sometimes
ever 40 if the construction zone warrants.
NJ's another 45 state. I like the Midwest and South, where construction
zones are often decremented by 10 or fewer MPH. Usually, lanes are
narrowed by at most a foot, shoulders can disappear, and transitions
occur relatively abruptly at either end of the construction zone. Now
of course, depending on these factors, maybe 15 MPH can be warranted,
but to decrement by 20 MPH when all the work is on the shoulder is just
ridiculous. Having worked with NJDOT for three months, I understand
that everyone wants to feel safe on the site, but the balance is skewed
too much toward that feeling (it's only a feeling because actual safety
comes from Jersey barriers) and not enough toward driver convenience.
That is NCDOT's policy. If the speed limit is 65mph, the construction
zone (if necessary) slows down to 55mph. Only in rare occasions does
it go lower than that.
I suspect the even lower speed limits in many NE US states is due to
the already high traffic volumes using the road. Except around the
cities, southern states don't have anywhere near the traffic volumes
you'd find around NYC, Boston, DC or other megalopolis cities. FHWA is
very concerned over the problem of crashes around construction sites,
however; it seems no one is slowing down even the moderate 10mph we
see down here in the south, and crashes are increasing.
