Local I-80 speed limit headed to 70 mph

Last updated: May 2, 2016 - 5:57pm


Traffic on I-80 in our area soon will move a little faster. The speed limit on the interstate through Columbia and Montour counties is jumping from 65 to 70 mph, part of a larger push for quicker travel on the state's highways and turnpike. PennDOT workers will begin posting new speed limit signs from Union County, all the way east to the Columbia-Luzerne line starting today, a PennDOT spokesman said. That's a 52-mile stretch. It should take about three days for all the signs to go up, said spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick. Besides I-80 near us, a 190-mile stretch of the highway from the Ohio state line east to Clinton County will also jump to 70 mph, along with sections of Route 15, I-79, I-380 and I-99. It's about 400 miles of highway and expressway total, Kirkpatrick said. It was a "methodical" decision, Kirkpatrick said. Two years ago, the state raised the speed limit in three pilot areas - a stretch of I-80 in central Pennsylvania, some of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and a section of I-380. Since then, there has been no increase in accidents on those stretches of road. So, PennDOT looked for other places speed limits could be raised. It considered only 65-mph zones. Officials looked at the geometry of the road: if it was mountainous, if it was curvy, if the entrance and exit ramps were designed for traffic traveling at 70 mph. "Safety was our top priority," Kirkpatrick said. Raising the speed limit won't cut a lot of time off cross-state drives. At 65 miles per hour, crossing the state on I-80 would take just under 5 hours. At 70, it would take just under 4 1/2 hours. But in some ways, the change is a recognition of what's already happening on the highways. Most speed limits are set by determining the speed that 85 percent of drivers are at or below. For many Pennsylvania highways, that speed is just a little more than 70 mph, Kirkpatrick said. That said, Kirkpatrick said the agency will continue to monitor crash rates on those stretches of road where speed limits are boosted. If it sees too many crashes on any section, it may lower the speed limit there, he said. And in a joint announcment with PennDOT, Pennsylvania Turnpike Chairman Sean Logan warned that "Motorists should not look at this change as consent to speed; in fact, it's as vital as ever to drive sensibly, to avoid distractions and to buckle up."Other sectionsHere are the other sections of highway seeing a speed limit increase to 70 mph: * I-79 from I-90 in Erie County south to a point just north of the PA 228 interchange in Butler County (97 miles) * I-79 from I-70 in Washington County south to the West Virginia border (33 miles) * I-80 from the Ohio State border east to a point near mile marker 190 in Clinton County (190 miles) * I-80 from a point near mile marker 195 in Union County to a point near mile marker 247 in Columbia County (52 miles) * US 15 from the interchange with PA 14 in Lycoming County north to the New York State border (49 miles) * I-99 from Exit No. 68 in Centre County south to a point near mile marker 34 in Blair County (34 miles) * I-99 from Exit No. 28 in Blair County south to mile marker 0 (PA Turnpike) in Bedford County (28 miles) * I-380 from I-84 in Lackawanna County south to Exit No. 3 in Monroe County (21 miles)Turnpike changing, tooTravelers on the Turnpike will also be driving at a higher speed limit along almost the entire toll highway. Since the summer of 2014, the Turnpike speed limit has been 70 mph on a 97-mile stretch between the Blue Mountain and Morgantown interchanges. All remaining sections of the PA Turnpike system that are now posted at 65 mph - including Turnpike extensions in southwestern PA - will be signed for 70 mph beginning May 3. Areas of the Pennsylvania Turnpike now posted at 55 mph will remain at 55 mph.

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