Road construction waits to ease
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June 30, 2013 |
Traffic flow through this summer’s many
construction zones statewide will improve as the
Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) enacts
guidelines designed to alleviate long-held
driver frustrations.
Wait times for projects will be shorter, and
speed limits and lane closures more reasonable,
as the department acts on input from drivers
frustrated with the old standards.
These changes, governing speed limits and lane
closures within construction zones, will benefit
the increasing number of drivers using Idaho
highways:
- When no workers or hazards are present, speed
limits won’t be reduced. When workers and/or
hazards are present, drivers are still required
to slow down.
- Speed limits will not be reduced by more than
10 mph when possible, and speed reductions are
limited to the immediate area affected by work,
not the entire construction corridor. For
example, if construction is only occurring in a
one-mile stretch of a 15-mile project, the speed
limit will only be reduced in that one-mile
area.
- Similarly, lane closures will only be in
effect near the area of work, not throughout the
entire construction zone.
Project durations also will be adjusted:
- Construction time for new projects will be
reduced to lessen impacts to the public. For
example, the ongoing Weiser River Bridge project
on U.S. 95 is a contract allowing 200 working
days but no winter shutdowns, whereas the
Payette River Bridge project on U.S. 95 a few
years ago was allowed 420 days for construction
and also winter shutdowns.
“ITD understands the frustrations drivers have
when they are slowed or stopped for
construction,” explained Tom Cole, ITD’s chief
engineer. “We also understand the need to keep
work zones as safe as possible for all.”
“Nationally, it's not only the construction
workers who are at risk. Members of the public
are being killed and injured - 75 percent of all
fatalities and serious injuries within work
zones are sustained by the public," Cole added.
"We are hoping that these changes will make our
work zones safer for both the worker and the
user.” |
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