Utah troopers write 3,000 speeding tickets on Interstate 80

Troopers say the effort has slowed traffic and Nigbur says the crash rate has dropped by about half.

The Associated Press

6/10/2009

SALT LAKE CITY— Troopers have handed out about 3,000 speeding tickets since the state started extra patrols in the Interstate 80 construction zone in Salt Lake City last year.

The Utah Department of Transportation announced Wednesday it has paid $8,000 to $10,000 a month in overtime to the Utah Highway Patrol to catch speeders since March 2008. Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Nigbur says the money covered 70 six-hour shifts a month.

Troopers say the effort has slowed traffic and Nigbur says the crash rate has dropped by about half.

Before the extra patrols started, the state found drivers were averaging 72 mph in the 55 mph work zone on I-80.

But the extra help is thinning this month. UDOT has cut the policing budget to $2,000 a month in anticipation of the I-80 widening project moving toward completion later this year.

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