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PrintCOLUMBIA — The Missouri Department of Transportation will meet the City Council halfway on the resolution proposed Monday night to lower the speed limit on U.S. 63.
MoDOT was working on reviewing this proposal prior to the council passing the resolution because of an engineering study to review speed limits, said Matt Myers, district traffic engineer for MoDOT. Based on the result of this study, MoDOT is going to recommend the speed limit be lowered to 65 mph, not 60, he said. The data from this study was collected from January and finished earlier in the week.
"This is a matter of safety," Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe said at Monday's meeting. "We have received concerns from people about the safety of being able to get on and off of the ramps."
The goal of the council's proposal is to reduce the number of accidents in the area and decrease the seriousness of the accidents that do occur.
"(U.S.) 63 wasn't built like I-70. U.S. 63 was built for a higher rate of speed, more like an expressway," Myers said. The speed limit for interstates within urban areas as 60 mph is provided for by Missouri statute, but U.S. 63 is a rural expressway.
The council can expect MoDOT's response by the beginning of next week and citizens can expect new signs to be in place by the end of the month.
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