State Patrol Cracks Down On Construction Zone Speeding
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- More than 200 active work zones are scheduled throughout the state of Minnesota this construction season.
And it's not just bright orange cones and flashing detour signs we'll see.
More patrols are now stationed along work zones.
Some of the biggest projects on tap for the Twin Cities include Interstate 94 from Minneapolis to Brooklyn Center and I-94 from St. Paul to Maplewood. There are also projects on I-35W in Minneapolis.
Highway 169 is already closed in Minnetonka and Edina.
In an effort to save lives, Minnesota State Patrol troopers will patrol them to make sure motorists are slowing down and paying attention.
"They're looking for a variety of things," Lt. Bob Zak said. "Speeding [is] one, distraction, if they're not wearing a seatbelt, if there's other erratic driving patterns of behavior. Maybe a drunk or impaired in some other fashion."
Zak says troopers are clocking people speeding through work zones at 65 to 69 miles per hour, above the posted 60 miles per hour speed limit.
He says cars moving fast through these construction zones can be dangerous to all who work there, including troopers.
"Just this year alone in 2017, we've had six squad cars hit with three troopers being injured," Zak said.
Sixteen squad cars were hit last year while parked, and four troopers were hurt.
"The distraction is really a contributing factor in a lot of crashes," Zak said.
Thirty-nine people have died in the past five year, and more than 3,700 were injured in work zone traffic crashes.
Zak says it's important to pay close attention when driving through construction areas because they're always changing.
"When you're driving through the construction zone it may be set one way today, tomorrow it may change, so it's an active work zone. It's not going to stay that way forever through completion, it's going to be continually changing," Zak said.
Drivers who are stopped for speeding or distracted driving through a construction zone will get slapped with double the fines -- up to $386.
Lt. Zak says you can still be stopped and ticketed if you drive through a construction zone with no workers present. He says the posted speed limit is just that at all times of day or night.
