GERMANTOWN -- Heavy construction throughout the Village of Germantown is causing more reports of reckless driving, according to the Police Chief.
"The amount of construction the village has going on right now is unprecedented," said Chief Peter Hoell.
He said projects on major state highways like 175 and 145 requires vehicles to take detours.
In a recent Facebook post the Chief said people who live along the detours are frequently reporting drivers speeding or disregarding stop signs.
"People are seeing traffic they normally wouldn't see going through their neighborhoods or side streets," Hoell said.
The Chief mentioned Highway Q and Main St. as other roadways under construction this summer.
He said, in some cases, callers have complained of drivers moving barriers reading "Road Closed" so that they can go around them.
Hoell said disregarding road closure signs could damage a vehicle, because those roads aren't safe to drive on.
The Chief added such reckless driving also endangers construction workers.
"They're not anticipating traffic coming through," Hoell said. "Those workers are on foot. They could be injured."
Hoell said the reason for the Facebook post was to ask the public to drive responsibly and obey speed limits.
He added anyone who spots a reckless driver can call Germantown Police with that person's license plate number and/or a description of the vehicle.
"What's very helpful is the time of day that's happening, because we get a lot of those complaints," Hoell said. "So then we can focus our efforts when it's best suited."
Hoell said Germantown Police are using extra patrols in the areas where complaints have been the most frequent in an effort to deter reckless drivers.
The construction on the roads around the Village is set to wrap up this fall, he said.
