KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The tragic death of a Basehor teenager in a June traffic crash led local and state officials to lower the speed limit from 65 to 55 miles per hour along parts of U.S. 24/40 Highway.
"This speed reduction is designed to change driver behavior, reduce speed in the corridor, and enhance safety for all road users," stated a news release from the Kansas Department of Transportation and the City of Basehor.
According to the news release, the change in speed limits, from 65 miles per hour to 55 mph, will be at these locations:
- Going west on Highway 24/40, the 55 mph speed limit begins just west of 150th Street and continues to roughly a half-mile west of 158th Street.
- Going east on Highway 24/40, the 55 mph speed limit begins roughly a half-mile west of 158th Street and continues to just west of 150th Street.
New static and dynamic signs will be installed along the affected portions of eastbound and westbound Highway 24/40 to alert drivers of the speed zone changes, the news release states. Static signs, noting reduced speed zones and posting of the new speed limits, will be installed the week of Aug. 25.
Dynamic speed feedback signs, alerting drivers of their current speed, will be installed later this fall.
Basehor mayor Dick Drennon told KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson in January that the city had been trying for 17 years to get the speed limit reduced along the highway.
"I was really grateful that our city came up with the petition," said Tammy Wilson Potts, a longtime Basehor resident, back in June. "It is the one that people have been signing."
Drennon also told Henderson that he and his wife were in a crash in October 2024 at the 155th Street and State Avenue intersection.
16-year-old Cody Lamping died in a traffic accident in June after driving south on 155th Street, running a red light, and his vehicle was hit by a pickup truck.
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