Sammy Hagar, of rock fame, cannot “Drive 55.” But most motorists on today’s interstate highways have difficulty driving whatever the posted speed limit is, whether it’s 55, 65, or 70.
Since May 1996, speed limits through rural areas of Alabama have been 70 mph. This includes Interstate 85 through Lee County, which is designated as a rural stretch of highway. Times have changed. The area is growing exponentially. With that, we see a dramatic increase of traffic, which can contribute to an increased number of automobile accidents.
We don’t see high-rise buildings along the interstate through Opelika and Auburn, but the area is leaning more and more toward becoming urban rather than rural. Developments at TigerTown, Bent Creek Road and the growth of the South College Street commercial area are testament to that.
Add U.S. Highway 280 in Opelika to the mix, and suddenly Interstate 85 becomes a major thoroughfare. U.S. Highway 280 was re-routed onto Interstate 85 between exits 62 and 58, where it veers back toward the northwest and Birmingham. That stretch of interstate highway is the most-traveled in the area, is regarded as the most dangerous in the area and it’s time officials do something to make it safer.
Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller is taking measures to see that it is. The mayor said he will draft a letter and send it to the Alabama Department of Transportation in hopes of getting the speed limit changed. He did not indicate his slower proposal would be 65 or 55 mph, but said, “speed is a killer.”
“We’ve had 11 accidents just in the month of August and two were fatal,” he said. “We’re writing a number of tickets, but it’s not slowing them.”
We hope that ALDOT, which still foresees an overhaul in that four-mile stretch that includes an increase from four lanes to six lanes, will consider Fuller’s plea. Lowering the speed limit from 70 mph to 55 mph truly is not very much of an inconvenience to motorists for such a small stretch of highway, particularly when their safety is the most pressing matter.
Until then, please observe the speed limit and help what is already a dangerous stretch of interstate not become more treacherous.
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