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(May 30, 2017) –In an ongoing effort to improve work zone safety, the Maryland State Police (MSP) and the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) will deploy the Maryland SafeZones Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) system along the 1.1-mile I-81 project in Williamsport. The ASE system will be in place along northbound and southbound I-81 between the Maryland/ West Virginia state line and MD 63 / MD 68 interchange.
Warnings will begin today, Tuesday, May 30. After a 21-day warning period, MSP will authorize citations beginning June 20. The current speed limit on I-81 between the bridges over the Potomac River and the MD 63/MD 68 interchange is 55 mph. Drivers speeding by 12 mph or more over the speed limit, or 67 mph or more, face a $40 civil citation.
Maryland SafeZones supports MDOT SHA, MSP and Maryland Transportation Authority Police (MDTA) in the statewide effort to improve work zone safety. Nationally, four out of five people injured in a work zone crash are passengers or drivers, not workers.
SafeZones mobile enforcement vehicles rotate among designated construction zones along controlled-access highways with posted speed limits of 45 mph or higher. MDOT SHA places large signs in advance of the work zones to alert drivers of automated speed enforcement use. Crews will also place a “speed trailer” to display the posted speed limit and drivers’ speeds in advance of the enforcement vehicle.
Where the State has deployed SafeZones, speeding violations have decreased by more than 90 percent. ASE is currently deployed in nine other work zones in the State. For more information, please visit
www.safezones.maryland.gov.
The $105.6 million bridge re-construction project will enhance safety and relieve traffic congestion along the heavily traveled I-81 corridor. Working with the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT), MDOT SHA will widen and reconstruct the I-81 Bridges over the Potomac River. The 3.6-mile project extends between US 11 in West Virginia and MD 63 / MD 68 and is expected to be complete spring 2020.
When driving through work zones, please stay alert – look for reduced speed limits, narrow driving lanes and highway workers. Slow down and don't follow too closely. Work zone safety is in your hands.
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