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Speed limit lowered for semis on accident-prone section of I-15 in Utah County

Posted at 4:36 PM, Dec 03, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-04 00:13:33-05

LEHI, Utah — The Utah Department of Transportation is lowering the speed limit for semitrucks on a section of Interstate 15 in Lehi.

The transportation agency says it is lowering the speed limit from 60 to 50 miles per hour for semitrucks in a stretch of the I-15 tech corridor, where two accidents recently took place — one of which closed both directions of I-15 for several hours.

UDOT had just installed a new traffic switch in the area in November. At first, engineers determined 60 miles per hour was safe, but in light of the accidents, it has been lowered. The traffic switch was needed for the construction of a bridge and will be in place until January 2020.

UDOT is urging all drivers to use caution when traveling through the area.

“There is a tendency for people, they’re not seeing a lot of reasons that they have to slow down because they’re able to navigate through there, but because of the changing traffic patterns, because of the narrow lanes, you have to slow down,” said UDOT spokesperson John Gleason.

The speed restriction only applies to northbound traffic.

UDOT expects to complete the tech corridor project by the end of 2020.