DUNCAN – At the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s request, Duncan is reducing the speed limit on state Highway 7 leading up to the light at U.S. Highway 81.
Voting 4-0 on June 13, the Duncan City Council authorized City Manager Chris Deal to amend the speed zone limits on SH 7 from 70 miles per hour to 60. Councilman Nick Fischer was absent.
ODOT is planning to install a full traffic light at the intersection of US 81 and SH 7, spokeswoman Leslie Mills told Southwest Ledger. The agency will let bids for the $2.8 million project in September.
ODOT's governing body, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission, may select the winning bid sometime in October, Mills said. She said projects generally begin within six to eight weeks following the commission’s approval.
The state Department of Transportation has proposed reducing the speed limit on SH 7 from 70 to 60 mph west of the bypass and from 60 to 50 mph between the bypass and US 81, Mills said. She added that the state Transportation Commission will need to sign off on the new speed limits.
“This speed limit reduction still has to be brought before the OTC also, but we ask cities/councils for approval to make sure everyone is on board,” she said. “Rarely does a town object.”
Mills said once the project is completed and the OTC approves the new speed limits, the limit will change from 70 to 60 to 50 mph leading up to the light.