A reader last week shared a letter to the North Carolina Department of Transportation asking for a study of the current 55 mph speed limit on N.C. 98 from its intersection with N.C. 96 to the east through Wake Forest on the N.C. 98 Bypass, and the answer promised the study which could take six to eight weeks.
If any other readers want to comment about the traffic on that highway, the Gazette will make sure they are shared with N.C. DOT.
The two email letters follow:
Mr. Lehr,
I am requesting a study of the current 55 mph speed limit on Hwy 98 in the vicinity of Wake Forest. From its intersection with Hwy 96 to the east and rejoining the old Hwy 98 to the west, this road serves numerous subdivisions, an industrial park, a major retail center and several heavily traveled intersections, including the intersections of Hwy 1 (Capital Blvd.) and S. Main St.
The industrial park and some subdivisions don’t have turn lanes. Combine this with the curves and hills that obstruct the line of sight of motorists and you have a situation that is very dangerous to the thousands who travel this route every day, not to mention the travelers heading for the coast who are less familiar with these hazards. And knowing a 55 mph zone means most motorists are traveling at least 5 miles over the posted speed, all of these factors are exacerbated exponentially.
The travel time differentiation between 55 mph and 45 mph is a matter of seconds. But it could mean lives saved! Please consider reducing the speed limit on this state road which is a major commuting route for many surrounding communities.
Thank You,
Mike Webb
Wake Forest
Hello Mike,
This e-mail acknowledges receipt of your request. Thanks for bringing your concern to our attention. I’ll pass it on to our Division Traffic Engineer, Al Grandy. Please give us a period of several weeks, say 6-8, to perform any investigation needed to determine if a drop in the speed limit is warranted. During that period, you can feel free to contact me at this e-mail address for updates or to ask any other questions that you may have. I will try to contact you as soon as I get an answer for you.
Respectfully,
Samuel J Lehr
Traffic Operations Technician
North Carolina Department of Transportation
Division Five – Traffic Engineering
6 Responses
I agree with Mr. Nourse that better enforcement of excessive speed is more what is needed. I live at the intersection of the bypass and Falls of Neuse and drivers take off like race car drivers from that intersection headed toward Wakefield. It might be advantageous to lower the speed limit from this same intersection going west to the Thompson Mill stoplight. Cars speed up not realizing that the Thompson Mill intersection is just around that curve. There have been considerable accidents at that intersection. Not sure if speed had anything to do with them.
What’s the estimated cost of this unnecessary study?
It is not necessarily the speed limit that is at fault, but the excessive speeds of many drivers. Better enforcement of the current limits would be a great assistance.
Count me in for NO reduction in speed. I have a suspicion that most of the “slow down” crowd would rather have opportunity to text, eat, parent, or direct slower traffic into their business than stay alert and drive.
Please do not lower the speed limit! The Traffic in town is already at a crawl and with adding lights on Capital Blvd and now this, we are limiting the only arteries in town!
Bogus. If anything, having two consecutive stoplights on downhill paths is far more dangerous and far more likely to result in accidents than the well-established 55mph speed limit. It’s a 4-lane highway from Jones Dairy all the way to US1 and beyond, so there’s little reason to impact the speed limit for the entirety of 98 from 96 to Wake Forest proper.