Updated: Where’s The Sign? Speed Limit Lowered On Portion of Highway 29

April 14, 2009

speedlimitfront.jpg (Updated 11:30 a.m.) The speed limit on Highway 29 has been lowered on the north side of Cantonment, and a NorthEscambia.com story published this morning led traffic engineers to realize that a 65 mph speed zone was gone due to a missing sign.

From Neal Road north to Molino, the speed limit was to be 65 mph north and southbound, but the company contracted to install speed limit signs for the Florida Department of Transportation failed to install the 65 mph sign in the northbound lanes at Neal Road — making the posted speed limit 55 all the way to Molino.

Russ Flowers, a supervisor will Transfield Services says that a miscommunication led to the missing sign. He said it will be installed within the next two days, after appropriate paperwork is approved. That sign will officially return the 65 mph speed limit to Highway 29 northbound from Cantonment to Molino.Transfield was the contractor hired by the state to install the signs.

The southbound signage on Highway 29 is correct, with a 65 mph zone from Molino to Cantonment.

Dozens of NorthEscambia.com readers and local law enforcement members contacted us this morning after our orginal story to alert us of the missing sign. We contacted the Florida Department of Transportation and Transfield Services to alert them to the missing sign.

Below is the original story as published this morning:

“It was decreased and extended further to the north in order to provide a smooth transition between the 45 mph speed limit…and the 65 mph speed limit,” according to Tommie Speights, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation.

The 45 mph speed zone was expanded north to near the intersection of Harvest Hill Drive near Cantonment Building Materials.

The 55 mph speed zone was moved north to near Neal Road.

From near Neal Road north, the speed limit remains at 65 mph to Molino, just as it has since 1996, Speights said.

The speed limit changes encompasses both the northbound and southbound lanes.

Comments

15 Responses to “Updated: Where’s The Sign? Speed Limit Lowered On Portion of Highway 29”

  1. slow down on April 16th, 2009 4:07 pm

    Yesterday the sign heading north out of cantonment was 55mph. It stayed that way until just past Hwy196 ( where everybody dies) when it changed to 65mph.

  2. Gail & Mike Reed on April 16th, 2009 10:29 am

    Thanks so much for checking into that speed limit signage confusion. we all just want to travel together at the correct speed whatever they say it is. I tried to tie a ribbon around the 55 mph signs, but you can’t even notice them! I enjoy your site for us on the Northside of Escambia. Thanks.

  3. dbg on April 16th, 2009 9:36 am

    uh-oh, you are right. I saw this sign yesterday. Going southbound, after going through the town of Molino the sign says 65.. then not far, right before the forestry division, it goes back down to 55. This sign is new.

    I did 55 all the way to cantonment from molino, just in case. That extra 10mph that we are thinking is the speed limit, isn’t going to be worth that ticket when they “line up and start pulling people over”.

  4. Uh-oh on April 16th, 2009 8:25 am

    The article says that the signage on Hwy. 29 southbound is correct–65 from Molino to Cantonment–but they did put up a new sign, right past Hwy. 196 that changes it back to 55 mph. I assume that will be fixed too? Sheesh, what a mess…

  5. slow down on April 15th, 2009 3:04 pm

    The speed limit is to fast, and this contributes to the death of local residents. It should not be more than 55mph.

  6. always bizzie on April 14th, 2009 6:35 pm

    Thanks William for covering this story. I contacted you and also Channel 3. You do a great job covering the news for our area! We can learn what is going on in our community quicker at NorthEscambia than you ever can with the News Journal and Channel 3. Way to go!

  7. Wise Man on April 14th, 2009 2:10 pm

    Well it is still messed up, traveling south as you pass Fran’s the sign is 65, and then as you pass Hwy. 196 or 197 ( Barrineau Park Rd.) it changes to 55. That is a little more than a mile apart. Traveling north out of Cantonment it is 45 at the Shell Station, then 55 at Neal Rd. and there is no change until after Barrineau Park Rd. again to 65, then less than a mile it goes back to 55 in Molino. What is sad is that it took an engineer to come up with all this, and make excuses when they find out just how ignorant it was. We pay these people. Confucious say if you make man head spin to much it will come off.

  8. Darryl on April 14th, 2009 9:31 am

    Be careful for as budgets get stretched thin some areas they make up shortfalls with traffic citations, and if the signage isn’t clear it is a golden opportunity to write a few citations. There is currently city after city doing different things to create more revenue like putting cameras at intersections and having yellow signal timing below federal standards, lowering speed limits below design/engineering standards, etc.

    The worst thing outside of Cantonment was the flooding of the road in certain sections; has that been fixed?

  9. dbg on April 14th, 2009 8:34 am

    I noticed this when I saw them changing the sign one day. It was, when coming north, 55 right after the last light in Cantonment, then went to 65 before getting to Neal rd. But it has changed to 45 after the light then to 55 before Neal rd.

    I have yet to see any signs letting people know the speed limit changed. Also there is no 65mph sign until after the forestry division in molino, then right back down to 55 topping the hill to molino.

    I don’t think people realize this, because cars are flying by me like the speed limit hasn’t changed. This is true, as of Easter Sunday, because I made a point to having everyone in my car to look for it.

    So until they put up that 65mph sign after Neal rd, I will continue to do 55.
    Also, traveling to Cantonment the speed goes down to 45 where it used to be 55.

  10. YELLAR HAMMER on April 14th, 2009 8:01 am

    There isn’t a sign,the old 65 speed limit sign has been changed to 55 mph and there isn’t any more signs till you get to the 55mph sign in Molino.This can cause a speed trap be careful.

  11. Danny on April 14th, 2009 7:58 am

    The northbound sign for 65 MPH was not at Neal Rd yesterday.

  12. William on April 14th, 2009 7:00 am

    The northbound sign is suppose to be near Neal Road. Going north, that is the next road past the tractor company.

    Any of you driving to Pensacola today, take a look coming back and see if the sign is there. Report back here in the comments.

    I looked for it last week and missed it too. I’m wondering if the state ever put it up.

    William
    Admin

  13. NF on April 14th, 2009 6:55 am

    I too noticed this yesterday and never saw another 65 sign until almost to Molino. Thanks William for this story, the county doesn’t let you know anything until you get fined.

  14. Greg McGahan on April 14th, 2009 6:46 am

    I think it is another way for the govt to raise money! This is not the stretch where the most accidents seem to occur.

  15. Brenda on April 14th, 2009 1:20 am

    I noticed that, but where is the 65 speed limit sign going north? I have looked, but I might have missed it.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News