Drivers are now expected to travel a little slower on a busy Dallas highway.
The Texas Department of Transportation has installed signs on North Central Expressway lowering speeds from 70 mph to 65 mph from Mockingbird Lane to downtown. The Dallas City Council earlier this month passed a resolution to implement lower speed limits on U.S. 75 and several other area road segments after speed studies by TxDOT.
Council member Paul Ridley said he asked TxDOT to conduct a speed study on the expressway after an NBC 5 news report of motorists driving at speeds over 100 mph on the highway. TxDOT increased speeds from 65 mph to 70 mph on the road nine years ago to address congestion.
Dallas in 2022 launched a Vision Zero initiative aimed at eliminating crash-related deaths and reducing severe injuries by half by 2030. Dallas roads are among the deadliest nationwide for pedestrians, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with more than half of all Dallas crashes last year happening on city-operated roadways.
Other road segments where speed limits will be lowered by 5 mph include:
- Great Trinity Forest Way from Bonnie View Road/Sunnyvale Street to Wadsworth Drive, reduced to 40 mph
- Great Trinity Forest Way from Wadsworth Drive to Pemberton Hill Road, reduced to 50 mph
- Great Trinity Forest Way from Pemberton Hill Road to C.F. Hawn Freeway, reduced to 40 mph
- Ledbetter Drive from Interstate 35E to Bonnie View Road/Sunnyvale Street, reduced to 40 mph
- Buckner Boulevard from Edge Lake Drive to U.S. Highway 175, reduced to 40 mph