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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- Motorists driving on Interstate 80 across southern Wyoming this winter will have to hit the brakes.
The Wyoming Department of Transportation says it plans to impose a speed limit of 65 mph on a 52-mile stretch of the interstate between Laramie and Rawlins. The reduction from the existing speed limit of 75 mph will take effect Oct. 15 and continue for six months.
In addition, WYDOT intends to install variable speed-limit signs on the same stretch of highway so the limit can be lowered further because of bad weather. The section is between the Quealy Dome Interchange, 20 miles west of Laramie, and the Peterson Interchange, 22 miles east of Rawlins, the agency said.
The state frequently closed stretches of the highway between Laramie and Rawlins last winter as high winds carried snow onto the driving lanes faster than crews could clear it away. WYDOT crews took the unusual step of bringing in rotary plows, usually reserved for clearing mountain passes in the spring, to keep the interstate open.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol intends to patrol the stretch this winter to make sure that motorists abide by the new, lower limit, Col. Sam Powell said.
WYDOT says that lowering the speed limit is intended to reduce crashes on the interstate. Bruce Burrows, spokesman for WYDOT, said Monday that from 2003 to 2007, 1,412 crashes that resulted in 26 fatalities occurred on the 52-mile stretch of highway.
WYDOT officials have said current funding is insufficient to pay for required future maintenance of I-80. Officials recently said that keeping the roadway in its present condition over the next 30 years will cost more than $2 billion, without accounting for inflation.
State Sen. Michael Von Flatern, R-Gillette, is co-chairman of the Senate Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee. He said Monday that reducing the speed limit is within WYDOT's purview.
Given slack federal funding for highway programs, Wyoming's transportation committee has been considering recommending the imposition of tolls on I-80 to help the state cover the cost of maintenance. Von Flatern said the committee expects to receive a report on the toll issue in mid-October.
"As long as that road keeps deteriorating and we keep having winter, you're probably going to see a propagation of these kind of rules," Von Flatern said of the lower speed limit.
John Cox, director of WYDOT, said the goal of reducing the speed limit is to create new driving habits among motorists on the roadway's section particularly prone to extreme weather that can change quickly.
According to the WYDOT release, the department's analysis of crash and speed data indicates that cars and trucks have not been slowing down in most winter driving conditions on I-80. The release states that 85 percent of cars travel 74 to 79 mph in winter, while trucks travel 70 to 74 mph. The department said that of crashes that occurred on the highway during the last decade, three-quarters happened during winter and unsafe speed was a factor in 71 percent.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
