Pa. Transportation Secretary: 70 MPH Signs To Be Up On I-79 By Vacation Season
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The speed limit change on some Pennsylvania highways has been a long time coming, and now there's some new details on when and where it's going to happen.
Pennsylvania's Secretary of Transportation says drivers can expect to see the speed limit rise to 70 miles per hour in several spots on Interstate 79 come May.
And by vacation season, the new 70 mile per hour signs will be up.
"We are working on that," said Secretary Leslie Richards. "In the next two months, we will have announcements of details on where the 70 mile per hour zones will be."
Drivers say Pennsylvania has been behind the times when it comes to the speed limit for a while now.
"West Virginia, other states are already at 70, why not us?" Jon Craft, of Mount Lebanon, said.
"The cars are built for it, the roads are designed for it, so there's no reason why you shouldn't," Mark Hammer, of Peters Township, said.
"I've gotten way too many tickets on the highway, to be honest. I travel it too much," Sarah Houk, of Wexford, said.
Richards says drivers can expect to see the signs change from 65 to 70 along I-79 from West Virginia to Erie; although, some stretches in Allegheny County will be left out.
"There are certain things we look for with 70 miles per hour. We look for straightaways, we look for no sharp turns, we look for the average flow of traffic, and believe it or not, we're looking at areas where people already - three quarters of them - are traveling at 70 miles per hour at this time," Richards said.
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"I guess the only problem I would see is the people who would see it as an opportunity for the whole racing aspect, because I feel a lot of that happens on interstate anyway," Johanna Paeplow, of McMurray, said.
"Cops should be vigilant. It's a speed limit, not a speed requirement, so start tagging them at 75," Craft said.
Don't expect to see the speed limit on the parkways change though or any other spots currently marked 55 miles per hour.
