Variable speed limits are coming to the top half of the perimeter starting this weekend.
You may have noticed the large signs covered in black plastic along I-285 north of both of its interchanges with I-20.
The signs are at nearly 90 locations along the 36 miles of roadway and are in both the median and on the side of the interstate.
The new digital signs will go online Sunday as crews with the Georgia Department of Transportation work to take down the old 55 miles per hour speed limit signs.
“These are new dynamic signs that are basically lighted signs where we do have the ability to change the speed limit when the speed limit needs to be changed,” says Chief Engineer Russell McMurry.
He says normally the speed limit will be 65 miles per hour. But in the event of an accident or hazardous road conditions, the department can lower the speed in increments of 10 down to 35 miles per hour if needed.
“The number one reason for this is safety; trying to warn the motorists that there is some reason that ahead of them traffic is slowed,” says McMurry.
The overhead message boards will alert motorists to the reduced speed ahead.
He says the idea is to prevent secondary crashes by slowing down traffic ahead of time.
Several states have already gone to variable speed limits including Washington which has seen a reduction in accidents by as much as 20 percent.
McMurry credits the late Capt. Herb Emory with coining the phrase “slow down and get there faster”.
“That’s exactly what this is; if you comply with the speed limits that are posted… you can slow down and then you’re not in that stop and go traffic,” he says.
WSB’s Sandra Parrish spoke to more than a half dozen motorists who generally agreed with the idea.
“There’s so much backup that happens because people just don’t adjust their speed according to different traffic patterns, so I’m for it,” says Rebecca Storm of Dunwoody.
McMurry says the state has seen great success after raising the speed limit to 65 on the south side of the perimeter last year. But he says it will not have variable speeds because traffic volume is not as high.