The Missouri Department of Transportation has lowered the speed limit along the stretch of Interstate 70 where work is underway to expand the highway to six lanes.
Jeff Gander, Director of Phase One of the Improve I-70 project, said the speed limit is now 55 miles per hour from Mile Marker 136 to Mile Marker 144 between Columbia and Kingdom City.
“We have had some trouble with people not paying attention to the signs in the work zone and people speeding through there,” Gander told Missourinet. “It sounds cliché to say it, but everybody working out there is part of somebody’s family and distracted driving is probably our biggest concern.”
Gander said there have been a couple of traffic crashes within the Improve I-70 work zone since work began in July, including one suspected DWI crash. No one died in those crashes. He strongly urges drivers to observe the 55-mile-per-hour speed limit and added that you won’t lose that much travel time by slowing down.
“The difference between going through there at 70 miles an hour and 55 miles an hour is about 98 seconds,” he said. “If you pay attention to the signs and put it on 55, you’re (only) going to lose 98 seconds of your day and it will do a lot for the people that are working out there.”
Gander also said speeding fines in Missouri are higher in work zones than along other stretches of roadways. Phase One of the Improve I-70 project is expected to be completed by late 2027.
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