DelDOT reported dozens of accidents in the last year along a stretch of I-95 northbound with a work zone currently in place.
DelDOT’s I-95 construction project near Route 896 has been the state’s largest endeavor for the past several years.
That project is set to wrap up this summer, and DelDOT plans to move speed cameras to a work zone further north to monitor drivers passing by a bridge rehabilitation project in the Churchman's Marsh area.
DelDOT Community Relations Director C.R. McLeod said it’s located along the most heavily traveled section of roadway in the state.
“And with this project, unfortunately, we are seeing an increased number of crashes and are looking to make it a safer work zone – not just for the workers who are out there doing this work, but also for anyone that's traveling through this work zone as well,” McLeod said.
Since this bridge project began last year, there have been dozens of crashes.
When DelDOT employs speed cameras, McLeod says they see a 10% reduction in the overall speeds of anyone traveling through a designated area, which leads to lower crash numbers.
McLeod added the number of crashes can be attributed to the fact that construction requires split lanes.
“We've done this very, very expansive lane shift on the entirety of I-95 in Churchmans Marsh, where we shifted both northbound and southbound traffic further over to the left if you're traveling northbound,” McLeod said. “As a result – if it's due to speed, inattentive driving – we've seen an increase of crashes because of this.”
McLeod said the hope is the speed cameras encourage drivers to slow down and pay better attention.
For the first 21 days the cameras are up, they will issue warnings to drivers. After that point, they will start issuing fines that increase in cost based on severity.
The minimum fine will total $118 for drivers going 66 miles per hour, 11 over the speed limit.
