CARLSBAD (KGTV) - In response to a four year construction project that recently kicked off, California Highway Patrol has lowered the speed limit on a stretch of interstate 5 by 10 miles per hour.
The stretch is about eight miles long, through Encinitas and Carlsbad. The entire project will eventually go all the way to the 78.
The project with add HOV lanes over the next four years. The new speed limit will help to protect workers in the area working closely to the passing vehicles.
California Highway Patrol officer Mark Latulippe tells 10News, "the days of well we just put the signs up and we’re giving you a grace limit, are over".
They've put up dozens of signs to warn people of the change, dropping the speed limit to 55 miles per hour. Despite the many signs drivers are ignoring the change and sticking to their normal speeds upwards of 70 miles per hour.
The signs have been up for about a month but Latulippe says, "we are sending enforcement units out now to start that ticketing process of trying to slow this down".
Drivers can now expect to get pulled over and ticketed from here on out. Because the area is a work zone, the tickets will be double the normal speeding fine.
