CHP Officers Threaten To Strictly Enforce Lower Speed Limit In Natomas I-80 Project
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The next time you travel Interstate 80 in Natomas, you'll notice two big changes: a lower speed limit and a higher number of officers looking for offenders.
The speed limit is now lowered to 55 mph for those driving eastbound Interstate 80 through Across the Top construction project in Natomas.
Why has the speed limit been lowered and what will CHP officers do to enforce it?
CHP says accidents have tripled in the area where the construction starts, and they are hoping a slower pace will help change that.
"It's a mess; it's a real a big mess," said tow truck driver Eddie Morris.
Morris says he's been busy on Interstate 80, tending to wrecks as people suffer through another major highway project.
"It should be a good thing that they are going to slow people down," said Morris.
That's Caltrans' latest plan after seeing crashes in the project triple a month after it began, with more than 30 crashes tying up traffic even more.
The project for a new car pool and outside merge lanes will now get another change, with the speed limit dropping from 65 to 55 mph.
"The cause of accidents [is] primarily speed. People are just going too fast for the conditions of the roadway and for traffic, and they are rear-ending each other," said Ofc. Chad Hertzell.
Officers are stepping up speed enforcement, but with lane space cramped as it is, we wanted to know how and where offenders will be pulled over in the 10-mile construction zone?
Hertzell says they will be tracking speeds from the air with their plane or helicopter.
"It's also going to require our motorcycles to go out there as well. They can maneuver in and out of traffic a lot easier than a car cop can, of course," said Hertzell.
Hertzell says if someone is speeding in the left express lane where there's no exit, an officer will, with some patience, be able to write that ticket.
"If we have to wait seven miles to get this person, then we are going wait seven miles -- we have nowhere else to go," said Hertzell.
Some drivers say reducing the speed isn't going to help and there's only one way to put the brakes on construction zone crashes.
"They need to fix the freeway. Fix the freeway; get it done," said Mike Ross, a driver.
If you are caught in the 10-mile construction zone, you could be hit with a big fine. Since it's a construction zone, fines are double the amount of typical fines.
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