CDOT will increase speed limit on I-25 through Trinidad

The Colorado Department of Transportation says it will increase the speed limit on I-25 through Trinidad from 55 mph to 65 mph. The change should be complete by early October.

The speed limit will increase between Van Buren Street and Goddard Avenue.

“Following the reconstruction of I-25 through Trinidad more than three years ago, it was clear the 55 mile per hour speed limit no longer reflected the speed a majority of drivers were traveling at,” said CDOT Traffic Engineer Sasan Delshad. “By raising the speed limit, it could improve the safety of the highway since the existing speed limit was established on the old roadway that had different characteristics than the reconstructed highway people are driving on today.”

The national standard recommends using the 85th percentile speed (the speed at or below which 85 percent of the vehicles are moving) as the primary factor in establishing the speed limit. The reason for this is because the vast majority of drivers will drive at speeds they consider safe and reasonable under ideal conditions

CDOT says that the majority of drivers on I-25 through Trinidad already travel between 60 and 70 mph.