HAZEL GREEN, AL—
Things are getting hazy in Hazel Green. Confusion reigns on Highway 231/431, where speed limit signs have been turned both upside down and completely around. Some say "60", others "50", and the signs are facing the opposite lanes of intended traffic. But both signs are actually wrong.The corect speed limit is really 45 miles per hour due to construction in the area. However, the Alabama Department of Transportation has yet to post the correct speed limit, causing confusion for many. Highway officials say the correct speed limit will be posted in the next day or two. Some drivers have already been ticketed in the unmarked stretch, which they say has been that way for the last two weeks.
"You don't know which way they (the signs) are going, this way or the other way", said driver Dudley Shafner. "You don't know what's going on."
"It's really confusing," added driver David Baker. "If you're coming from one way you look across the road and see a sign that says 60. You're gonna think you can go 60 miles per hour, but yet the speed limit is actually 50 or 45...I hope they're not gonna leave it like this."
ADOT officials say the regular signs were turned around in order to avoid damage from construction. State troopers have been issuing tickets in the area, and tell WHNT News 19 that anyone who did receive a speeding ticket in the unmarked stretch can cite the lack of a correct sign as grounds for appeal. Traffic court judges have the final say on those appeals.
