“By increasing the limit on the Airport Access Road, we believe the GPS guidance will recognize it as a faster alternative than the mixed speed limits along National Road, which range from 25 mph in the business corridor up to 50 mph in areas west of the car dealerships,” said City Manager Dan Wendt.
Instead of using Airport Access Road, many truck drivers are taking National Road and Dixie Drive to travel to warehouses on the west side of the city. Safety metrics and crash data reveal the traffic has caused several collisions in the area, according to the city.
Besides the trucks presenting a safety hazard for motorists, they are also problematic for the quality of the city’s roads.
“I anticipate that the planned warehousing developments on the west side of the airport will lead to greater wear and tear of our roadways – an expense that should not be shouldered by the residents of Vandalia,” said Councilmember David Lewis in a statement.
Wendt said the speed increase won’t cause more accidents.
“The Airport Access Road is fed by Interstate 70, where the existing speed limit is already 65 mph. We do not anticipate the change leading to an increase in passenger vehicle crashes,” he said.
Officers of the Vandalia Police Division have participated in training with the Ohio State Patrol and have gotten stricter about writing citations and warnings for drivers. In the last two weeks officers made 23 stops resulting in three citations, 19 written warnings, and one verbal warning.
Later this month Wendt said he will meet with ODOT to continue to work toward reducing commercial truck traffic inside the city.
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