The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the Virginia State Police are attempting to reduce the number of crashes on Interstate 81. The project they're working on may bring speed camera enforcement to work zones on the Interstate.
Although no plans have been formally announced, the subject came up at the recent Commonwealth Transportation Board meeting.
Members were being briefed on I-81 construction, when the conversation turned to frequent traffic backups and delays.
“One of the things that’s really contributing to that problem is crashes, and crashes in the work zone,” said VDOT’s Dave Covington. “And we are working to drive that number down as best we can. "
Covington said VDOT is working on a plan to deploy new technology in the Salem area to reduce the number of crashes.
“My understanding is that we are in procurement for a system that we can actually put in place,” Covington told the board. “We would like to monitor that for one year to see what kind of behavioral changes occur as a result of that. So it is in the planning stages, but has not happened yet.”
VDOT is still considering where the cameras will go, but have no formal plans of using the speed cameras.
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Source: WDBJ7.com
