Sammy Hagar once mocked the National Maximum Speed Law with the 1984 song, “I Can’t Drive 55.”

For Alabama 181 motorists in Baldwin County, they only wished the speed limit was 55 mph.

The four-mile stretch of state highway from Daphne to Fairhope remains 35 mph, despite the highway going from two to four lanes in a project that was officially opened last month.

And motorists are getting grumpy on social media, blasting public officials, and calling the entire concept “stupid.”

Daphne City Councilman Ron Scott, during Wednesday’s Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting, said he’s seen the comments. And he’s hoping the public messaging gets through: The 35 mph is only temporary and will change as soon as work crews are finished with the paving.

“If we can advertise that it will remain 35 until the contractor is off the job, it will help others from being called idiots,” said Scott, who joked. “Which, I’m used to.”

Alabama 181 reopened to four lanes of traffic in late March, largely capping a 4-1/2-year-long project that cost $30 million.

The extra lanes were added to accommodate the rapid growth through the Eastern Shore area of Baldwin County, which has seen more than 27% growth since 2010.

But state officials never said the project was totally complete and, at the time, urged motorists to be patient until the construction was finished.

That remains the case. And as such, the speed limit is not going up.

“It will be (35 mph) for the remainder of construction,” said Matt Ericksen, Southwest Region Engineer with the Alabama Department of Transportation. “That will be for about the next two weeks. It’s really (due to) the paving. There are a lot of intersections and side streets. It’s time-consuming work.”

The mayors of Fairhope and Daphne said they have not received direct complaints about the speed limit.

Fairhope Mayor Sherry Sullivan said that, overall, the city has ramped up speed enforcement throughout the city.

“We are running patrols everywhere,” Sullivan said. “We’ve probably given out more tickets in the past couple of months (as compared to the recent past). People just have to slow down.”

But slowing down on the newly widened Alabama 181 is not something motorists anticipated, at least those expressing their discontent on social media.

James Gordon, a spokesman with ALDOT’s Southwest Region, said he’s seen the comments from people wanting to know why the speed limit remains at 35 mph. He said it has to do with worker safety.

His comments come after National Work Zone Awareness Week was held last week, during a nationwide push to urge people to slow down.

The website 24/7 Wall St., in analyzing data from 2016-2020, ranked Alabama No. 12 in the nation for the most work zone car crashes resulting in a fatality.

“The law is that when there is a work zone, (the lowered speed limit) is in place until the work is complete,” Ericksen said.