Slow down on I-95 or pay up. Delaware fires up speed cameras in work zone

Slow down along a busy Delaware construction zone or prepare to pay up.

The Delaware Department of Transportation's Electronic Speed Safety Program began on Monday, July 8, 2024, along the Interstate 95/Route 896 interchange construction zone near the University of Delaware and Maryland border, DelDOT said.

Basically, that means that the speed cameras along I-95 in Newark are fired up through the end of construction.

The first 21 days (through most of the rest of July) will be a warning period, DelDOT said while announcing the speed camera program last month.

A first fine will exceed $100 with all the fees added in

The money-making speed cameras were given to green light when Gov. John carney signed the codified Electronic Speed Safety Program into law in 2023, DelDOT said. The bill allows for the speed limit to be posted at 55 mph in the construction zone on I-95.

Once the fines begin, a first offense will get a $20 fine, plus an extra buck added for each mile per hour exceeding the posted speed limit, DelDOT said. Of course, there is also a much larger base fine that makes tickets much more expensive.

"For example, if the captured violation occurs at a speed of 66 mph, the speed violation is $20.00 plus an additional $11.00 which accounts for $1.00 for each mile per hour over the 55-mph posted work zone speed limit, and the assessment of other fees as set forth in Delaware Code for a total of $118.00," DelDOT said. "Second and subsequent offenses are higher, per Delaware Code."

Fines don't start until you exceed 11 mph over the speed limit.

Drivers who speed past the work zone won't get points on their licenses, DelDOT said.

Click here for a full breakdown from DelDOT about FAQs about the program.

Delaware officials hopes speed cameras help protect I-95 construction workers

DelDOT insists the program is about safety and not a cash grab.

"This is our largest construction zone in the state right now," DelDOT spokesman C.R. McLeod said in June 2024. "And over the first year of the project we've had close to 100 crashes in that construction zone."

More than 125,000 drivers pass through the I-95/896 interchange on average each day, according to the project's website. Around 60% of those vehicles enter or exit I-95 at the interchange.

Many of those drivers aren't from the area and are passing through on the busy highway.

"The I-95/896 interchange project is currently the largest infrastructure project in the state with hundreds of people working in the area, Secretary of Transportation Nicole Majeski said in a June news release announcing the speed cams. "While there thankfully have not been any crashes that have injured workers, we continue to see too many crashes involving vehicles traveling through the work zone."

This isn't the first stretch of I-95 monitored by fine-giving speed cams. Back in 2022, Delaware launched a speed cam program along a work zone on I-95 in Wilmington.

"Data from that pilot program showed a 46 percent decrease in total crashes and a 38 percent decrease in injury crashes compared to the same time period in 2021 when construction was also occurring," DelDOT said.

The data also showed people slowed down by an average of 5 mph after the speed cams went live, DelDOT said.

"The Electronic Speed Safety Program has shown it reduces overall speed and crashes, improving safety for workers and everyone traveling in the area," said Secretary of Transportation Nicole Majeski.

Best bet is for I-95 drivers to slow down to avoid paying more for the ride while keeping workers safe.