Tulsa Officers Enforcing Speed Limit, Keeping Construction Workers Safe

Tulsa police officers are writing dozens of tickets on Riverside Drive near the River Spirit Casino to keep construction workers safe.

On Wednesday alone, the Motorcycle Unit ticketed 140 speeders.

Even with the orange barrels out, officers say some drivers didn't know about the construction zone or the speed limit change.

As the River Spirit Casino expands on the banks of the Arkansas River, so will Riverside Drive; and with work crews installing a turn lane and traffic signal into the casino, the speed limit has dropped.

The speeding is so bad, the Tulsa Police Department requested its Motorcycle Unit to patrol the 25-mile-per-hour construction zone.

"It's frustrating that most of the people we stop, they don't, they tell me that, you know, they didn't see the signs…occasionally we'll get people who will say, 'what construction zone,'" Officer Larry Woods said.

The officers wait right in the middle of the construction zone with radar guns ready - catching drivers speeding through.

“Speed limit is clearly posted. It goes from 45 to 35 to 25, and these guys (the construction workers) want to go home, just like everybody else at the end of their shift, so people need to slow down," Woods said.

Tickets can range from $150 to $200 depending on your speed; 20 over and you're going right to the judge.

Construction should be done in a week.

The Motorcycle Unit is also patrolling other construction sites in Tulsa at 61st and Memorial and 31st and Harvard.