Posted on 08/09/2014 9:12:01 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
PORTLAND, Maine — Motorists driving stretches of the Maine Turnpike will be allowed to go 5 miles per hour faster starting Monday, the Maine Turnpike Authority has announced.
The speed limit will increase on the turnpike from 65 mph to 70 mph with the exception of three areas, Executive Director Peter Mills said.
They are: south of mile marker 2.1 on I-95 in Kittery, where the maximum speed will remain 65 mph; through Greater Portland from mile marker 41 in Scarborough to mile marker 53 in Falmouth, where the speed limit will increase from 55 mph to 60 mph; and on the Falmouth Spur, which will increase to 60 mph.
“With the improvements that have made Maine’s interstates safer, such as added guardrails in the median and clearing along the highway, it makes sense to raise the speed limit to the rate of which most people are already traveling, if it is safe to do so,” Mills said in a statement released Friday. “Motorists need to remember that this is a maximum speed. We urge motorists to respect conditions and to drive safely, no matter what the posted speed may be.”
Turnpike maintenance crews will begin changing about 100 signs along the roadway to reflect the new speed limits at about at 5 a.m. on Monday, Mills said.
Friday’s announcement follows the increase of speed limits in late May along portions of Interstate 295, Interstate 95, Interstate 395 and Route 1, by five miles per hour. The changes increased speed limits to 60, 65 and 70 mph.
The possibility of raising speed limits on the interstate highway system was made possible in May 2013 with the enactment of LD 654, An Act to Raise the Speed Limit on Interstate 295. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Justin Chenette, D-Saco, originally called for raising the maximum allowable speed on Interstate 295, which runs between Scarborough and West Gardiner, to 75 mph. It was amended to give the transportation commissioner the authority to raise the limit on the entire interstate system.
The bill won unanimous approval in the Legislature and went into effect on May 20 without Gov. Paul LePage’s signature.
Illinois at last attempted to join the modern world on Jan 1, 2014, raising the limit on interstates to 70 mph.
What will the new average speeds be?
They don't work, generally people drive the safe speed, regardless of the posted speed.
Another example of too much government.
/johnny
Won’t these higher speeds hurt the environment by making cars burn fuel less efficiently? Global warming is a threat you know. What about safety?
How about the ozone layer? Have they done their due diligence on the spotted owl and the ladybug? What happens if a squirrel gets run over trying to cross to get an acorn - it’s just not fair.
Then Senator Hillary Clinton pushed the idea of a National 55 MPH Speed Limit way back when.
Can’t remember the reason. Could have been that she thought we were running out of Oil or something. Smartest Woman in the World you know.
88 miles per hour!!
Bingo! You nailed it Johnny. It is all about revenue, not safety. If it was about safety, they reduce the speed limit to 25 miles per hour or less, and then thy would be issuing tickets for that. Remember, there are only two reasons for a license: revenue and control—and not necessarily in that order.
Are you related to Hydrazine?
/johnny
How about Bromine—just 29 elements away from florine? Just asking.
I can stink.
/johnny
Don’t be so hard on yourself.
/johnny
Yes, spent seven years in a lab.
/johnny
Texas might be bigger but they have a straight path to get just about anywhere. In Maine, sometimes you have to drive 100 miles north to get 30 miles south. I know that doesn't make sense but you have to be there to see what I mean.
Endless trees in Maine. I haven't counted but I think Maine has more trees than any other state in the union. Most of Maine is inaccessible due to the huge forests.
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