Holmes County looks to reduce speed limit to 45 mph on three roads

MILLERSBURG – New pavement has led to more speeding on some Holmes County roads.

It's an unexpected problem that could be rectified by reducing the speed limits in certain areas.

County commissioners on Thursday approved a resolution asking the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to lower the limit from 55 mph to a safer 45 mph on County Roads 407, 200 and 189.

The reduced speed was recommended in a recent safety study.

MasterMind: Holmes County moving forward with speed reduction plan on selected county roads

Deputy Engineer Cory Baker explained the procedure for speed reduction. Baker said the report looks at intersections, businesses, terrain of the road, turns and roadway conditions, as well as the volume and type of vehicles (semis, buses, trucks) that travel the roads.

"Based on their recommendation, that's what we will send to ODOT, a posted speed of 45 miles per hour," Baker said. "The first step of the process was getting the consultant to do the study and they send us their reports. Then we send the report to ODOT with their recommendation, along with a letter suggesting the speed limits we want."

Baker said if ODOT OKs the 45 mph speed, then the county will post new speed limit signs and notify the state.

He said it usually takes about two weeks to hear back from ODOT once they submit the report, and as long as they have the signage made, it gets posted as soon as possible.

"They usually go with what the report says," Baker said. "We usually don't ask for anything different from what the consultant's report says."

Holmes County works to lower speed limit to 45 mph on several roads

County Road 200 runs from state Route 241 to U.S. Route 62. County Road 407 runs from County Road 58 to 68, and also a stretch from County Road 68 to state Route 557. And County Road 189 runs from the Holmesville Corp. limit to Township Road 207 in Benton.

"There are already three or four different speed limits posted on 189 already," Baker said. "We wanted to make it all one speed limit if we could, and their recommendation came back with 45. We want to make it easier for drivers, the sheriff's office and everybody else."

Recent road resurfacing has improved driving conditions, Baker said, which has caused some people to drive faster.

"We're trying to get all the county highways posted for speed limits because they will all be in good condition because of the sales tax paving project," he said.

Commissioner Dave Hall said as the county continues to grow and more areas are developed for housing, the need for monitoring speeds in certain areas becomes more important.

Commissioner Joe Miller added speeding along county and township roads is one of the biggest and most common complaints he hears from residents.

"You get places where the farmhouse is built on one side of the road and the barn is on the other side, and there is a lot more traffic on the roads now than when they were built," Miller said.

Baker said having speed limits posted adds flexibility for businesses as to where they can build their driveways.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Holmes County seeks to lower speed limit to 45 mph on three roads