Changing Speed Limit Signs To Be Installed On I-94 Near Van Buren

MDOT has announced a plan to install electronic speed limit signs on a part of I-94 in and around Van Buren County that, especially recently, has had many terrible accidents. The idea is to caution drivers about possible hazardous driving conditions to lessen the chance of more accidents occurring.

Variable speed limits were one of the suggestive actions for I-94 in Van Buren County, an area that historically receives the highest snowfall totals and has the highest percentage of commercial vehicles within MDOT's Southwest Region. This segment of I-94, in winter weather, has a crash rate 24 percent higher than other 70 mph routes. In addition to this, crashes along this corridor have shown to have speed differentials ranging from 20 to 45 mph before impact. This project involves installing a variable speed limit advisory system along I-94 in Van Buren County. During adverse weather conditions and traffic incidents, motorists need to be advised of safe travel speeds due to changing weather and road conditions along this corridor. The variable speed advisories will be integrated into the ATM, allowing the automation of changing advisory speeds based on data received from nearby environmental sensing stations, vehicle detectors and incident notifications.

This plan is part of the 5 year plan MDOT has laid out which you can read here. The signs are expected to be installed around 2023.