T-DOT has not changed the speed limit along the Highway 70 Corridor back after the March tornado.
It will not be changed until the City of Cookeville completes a traffic study along the corridor. T-DOT Community Relations Officer Jennifer Flynn said the department promised the city it would wait until the study is complete before changing the speed limit.
“So, the speed limit changes would be coordinated in an effort to reduce confusion for drivers, and make the change as safe and smooth as possible” Flynn said. “We do not want several different speed limits out there. That just adds to confusion.”
The city and county requested T-DOT drop the speed limit from 45mph to 30mph in the days after the tornado.
“We know that 30 is kind of hard to live with right now,” Flynn said. “But the 30 MPH speed limit served its purpose during the cleanup and kept people safe. We know things are getting back to normal. We will revisit the speed limit and do what we can to make it better for everybody.”
Flynn said the city is very close to completing the study. After the study is complete, T-DOT traffic engineers will work to get the speed limit signs changed.
