The speed limit on a 4-mile stretch of Chinden Boulevard in Garden City will be increased to 50 miles per hour, starting Thursday, according to the Idaho Transportation Department.
A new state law gives the Idaho Transportation Department the authority to set limits on all state highways and interstate routes.
The speed limit from Eagle Road to Coffey Street is currently 45 mph, though one section of it is 35 mph. The decision to increase the limit in that area came after summer 2010 study of traffic in the area.
ITD traffic engineers set the limit to be the speed at which 85 percent of traffic is driving — that's considered a "safe and reasonable" speed. Research shows that speeds at the 85th percentile produce the fewest crashes.
