BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MONROE -- Motorists beware: Avoid the temptation to race down that newly widened expanse of Cincinnati-Dayton Road.
Monroe Police are warning drivers that surrendering to the urge to speed there could mean a visit to mayor's court.
"A lot of people are wanting to speed along there," said Monroe Police Capt. Tom Bishop. "It's a nice smooth road and roomy. I think people think they're on the interstate. We've had people going easily 65 mph. Maybe higher."
But it's not an interstate, and the speed limit is not 65 mph. Cincinnati-Dayton is a state highway and the speed limit, which has been 35 mph for years, was raised to 45 mph last week because of the widening, Capt. Bishop said.
The $5.3 million widening of Cincinnati-Dayton Road between Ohio 63 in Monroe and Greentree Road in Middletown began in June 1997. The entire two-mile stretch was opened to traffic for the first time last week.
The road is used by about 11,000 motorists daily.
So far, Monroe police officers have issued mostly warnings, but now those will likely change to citations, Capt. Bishop said. "If you're caught exceeding the legal limit, you're subject to being ticketed for speeding," he said.
Officers will patrol the newly opened road regularly. And police will be even more visible than usual citywide during the next two weeks during a state-funded selective traffic enforcement program.
