EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — El Paso would be the first place in Texas to implement and activate a variable velocity restrict, the Texas Division of Transportation El Paso District stated.
The variable velocity restrict part is positioned on U.S. 54 southbound (mainlanes solely) from roughly Cassidy Highway to Interstate 10. Activation will start Wednesday, Oct. 16, TxDOT stated.
“Pace is without doubt one of the high contributing elements in visitors crashes in Texas,” stated Eduardo Perales, skilled engineer, TxDOT El Paso District director of transportation operations. “This gives an extra device to alert drivers of congestion or undesirable circumstances impacting the highway forward and to scale back their velocity. One in three of all visitors fatalities in Texas contain velocity. Although behavioral, we will try to deter dashing.
“We chosen this portion of US 54 as a result of we regularly see congestion from the worldwide crossing,” Perales added. “Because of proximity to the variety of elevated interchanges there, it should additionally help with any winter climate circumstances.”
The velocity restrict can solely be lowered to a most of 10 mph under the posted velocity restrict.
“The VSL system makes use of real-time knowledge to implement the diminished velocity restrict because of congestion and is able to being totally automated or manually modified by an operator. Advance warning indicators will notify drivers they’re coming into a variable velocity restrict section of the roadway. Dynamic message indicators will point out the section’s present velocity,” TxDOT stated in its information launch.
Home Invoice 1885 handed in September 2023, permitting the Texas Transportation Fee to determine this security measure, TxDOT stated. The approval permits the momentary decreasing of the velocity restrict to handle inclement climate, congestion, highway building, or every other situation that impacts the secure and orderly motion of visitors.
The variety of visitors crashes within the Metropolis of El Paso in 2023 that concerned dashing totaled 3,855, TxDOT stated. These crashes resulted in 30 deaths and 65 severe accidents, TxDOT added.
Final yr, 1,303 individuals had been killed in speed-related crashes throughout the state, in response to TxDOT.
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