You’ll need to hit the brakes if you’re hitting the road over the Memorial Day weekend.
The upcoming holiday weekend will see a speed reduction along Interstate 17, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. Speed limits will be reduced by 10 miles per hour southbound between New River and Sunset Point on I-17. These reductions start Friday and go through Monday.
Memorial Day is a notoriously dangerous time on our roadways, and ADOT has enforced speed reductions over the past few years. An ADOT study revealed that law enforcement cited “speed too fast for conditions” in upwards of 40 percent of I-17 crashes that happened in the Black Canyon City area from 2011-2015.
ADOT is urging motorists to drive safely as they aim for no deaths on the road during the holiday weekend. 1971 was the last year no fatalities were recorded for Memorial Day travel. There were 11 fatal crashes in 2015, seven in 2016 and five last year.
ADOT also plans to have more vehicles out on our roadways, so they are able to respond to crashes quicker and minimize delays on high-traffic stretches such as Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson. State Route 87 between Mesa and Payson will also have more patrol vehicles.
For more information, please visit the official Facebook page of ADOT here.