With construction work on widening Highway 101 now extended from Pepper Road to just south of Petaluma Boulevard North, Caltrans has lowered the speed limit there to 55 mph.

CHP Officer Jon Sloat promises “regular enforcement in the area.” Typically, he said, officers will park in the construction zone on the other side of the K-rail and watch for speeders.

If you do get caught — after all, unless there’s congestion to slow them, many, if not most, drivers exceed 55 in the construction zone — don’t pull over and block traffic. Wait for a wide enough shoulder or take an exit and then find a safe spot to stop.

The 55 speed limit now extends for about eight miles — from just north of Santa Rosa Avenue to just south of Petaluma Boulevard North — in the Rohnert Park, Cotati and, now, Petaluma construction zones.