Ohio Speed Limit going to 70 MPH...And Ohio Turnpike Tolls to Rise!!!

[seicer]

There are significant chunks of SR 32 that have no traffic signals, yet it remains at 60 MPH because of the sporadic signal layout. Why not just go 60 MPH at Jackson and a few areas, and 65 MPH elsewhere?

[thenetwork]

Nice to see SR-2 west of Cleveland and SR-11 north of Youngstown getting the well-deserved boosts, but they are still being too speed-miserly in the urban areas.

[vtk]

It's the "urbanized areas" themselves that are out of whack.  They extend far outside the edges of the suburbs.

But that doesn't account for certain sections that are left at 55 which could seemingly be raised according to the new limits.

[exit322]

Apparently this got sort-of extended to the part of US 30 that goes through the speed trap Dalton, as it's now marked at 55 (up from 50).

[Buck87]

So glad to finally have 70 mph in Ohio. It ended up taking a 2.5 year, 3 part process to get it done across the board (turnpike spring 2011, interstates summer 2013, other freeways fall 2013), but we got it done.

The gist:

• "Rural divided highways"  to 60 miles per hour (194 miles of roadway)
• "Rural expressways without traffic control signals"  to 65 miles per hour (15 miles of roadway)
• "Rural freeways"  to 70 miles per hour (398 miles of roadway)

The part about 65 mph rural expressways is interesting because a lot of those were already 65 (parts US 30, US 23, US 24.) I wonder if those sections were some sort of exception to how the prior law was written, and this new language is to make those exceptions the state wide rule? Or maybe the previous language wasn't very clear on speeds for freeways vs expressways and this was to give a statewide uniform definition and make it clear that those expressways were not to be 70?

Anyway, in the end only 15 miles of expressway changed to 65, a good chunk of that being the US 20 bypass around Fremont, which jumped all the way up from 55 and is one at grade intersection shy of being a full freeway.

And seeing the divided highways jump to 60 is another very welcome change, because a rural 4 lane divided highway having the same speed limit as a 2 lane road always seemed like a waste to me. Nice to see (according to the ODOT maps) that a large portion of US 23's 55 zones made the jump, including the quad-carriage test area between Waldo and Delaware which really needed it, and several large chunks between Columbus and Portsmouth. Too bad the part south of Delaware is still the same old pain in the butt, but at least a small section of 36/37 between Delaware and 71 is now 60 for those who prefer that route. And of course I also love having US 20 at 60 mph.

Nice to see SR-2 west of Cleveland and SR-11 north of Youngstown getting the well-deserved boosts, but they are still being too speed-miserly in the urban areas.

Yep, love seeing Route 2 get the bump, though for whatever reason it goes back to 65 at Bay View. Not sure if it's because they didn't want the 70 mph speed limit on the Sanduksy Bay Bridge or if they think that the Ottawa County section is too congested with tourst traffic in the summer, or maybe a little of both.

[PurdueBill]

The part about 65 mph rural expressways is interesting because a lot of those were already 65 (parts US 30, US 23, US 24.) I wonder if those sections were some sort of exception to how the prior law was written, and this new language is to make those exceptions the state wide rule? Or maybe the previous language wasn't very clear on speeds for freeways vs expressways and this was to give a statewide uniform definition and make it clear that those expressways were not to be 70?

As I saw this past weekend, an upshot of the "new" limits even on stretches that didn't change in limit for cars is that the split limits have disappeared in places.  For example, US 30 from the Indiana line to just west of Bucyrus had been 65/55, is now just 65.  From Bucyrus to Ontario there are no intersections so it's 70, then down to 55 through Mansfield and 60 east of there for a ways over to Wooster.  The split limit signs going away resulted in some tall-looking assemblies with normal signs where a very tall one used to be, but it sure makes things a lot simpler.

[Buck87]

^
Ah yes, that was another good part of this most recent speed law. Most of the articles I read about the speed going up made it sound like the dual speeds were to be completely removed as well.

The article also says rural two lanes roads could be posted at 60.

And the law was indeed changed to allow it, here's what it says:

"(H) (2) Whenever the director determines upon the basis of a geometric and traffic characteristic study that the speed limit of fifty-five miles per hour on a two-lane state route outside a municipal corporation is less than is reasonable or safe under the conditions found to exist at that portion of the state route, the director may determine and declare a speed limit of sixty miles per hour for that portion of the state route, which shall be effective when appropriate signs giving notice of it are erected at the location."
http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4511.21

However, it's been months since that became law and I don't know of any place that's actually enacted it yet. My guess is that this law was put on the books with super two's in mind (like the Athens-Darwin and Pomeroy-Ravenswood sections of US 33)

[vtk]

315 is still 65/55 in Columbus.  I wonder if that's the city's preference or what...

[sandwalk]

Anyway, in the end only 15 miles of expressway changed to 65, a good chunk of that being the US 20 bypass around Fremont, which jumped all the way up from 55 and is one at grade intersection shy of being a full freeway.

Is it just me, or is it kind of strange that while the US-20 Fremont Bypass is going to 65, the fully limited access Norwalk Bypass is just going to 60?  Weird....

[thenetwork]

It is, since I recall ALWAYS seeing more traffic on US-20 in Fremont versus US-20 in Norwalk.

[Buck87]

Agreed on it being weird and there being more traffic in Fremont vs Norwalk. Plus, Fremont's bypass has several loop off ramps with suggested speeds of 25 and 30, while Norwalk's has none like that.

I was on the Fremont bypass yesterday, and saw that the 65 zone doesn't begin until after the at grade intersection between State Street and OH 412, and then drops back to 60 about halfway between OH 19 and the US 20/US 6 split. That means the 65 zone lasts for only 5 miles, which is the same amount of freeway that Norwalk has, so it's not like the Norwalk stretch is too short to be 65.

[sandwalk]

It is, since I recall ALWAYS seeing more traffic on US-20 in Fremont versus US-20 in Norwalk.

True.  Fremont has more east-west traffic using US-20.  Norwalk has more north-south traffic with US-250 (which was originally planned to be routed onto the eastern end of the US 20 bypass with a northerly extension to Milan/Ohio Turnpike).
http://goo.gl/maps/0lD43

[Buck87]

That 250 bypass extension always been interesting "what if" for me. Do you know what stopped the rest of it from being built? When was the last time there was any talk or studies about finishing it?

[PColumbus73]

Sorry for the off-topic, but why does US 23 explode into eight lanes between Delaware and Waldo? Are they planning to convert 23 into a freeway?

I've always done around 60 on US 23. 33 between Pomeroy and Columbus would be great at 60-65.

[Buck87]

Sorry for the off-topic, but why does US 23 explode into eight lanes between Delaware and Waldo? Are they planning to convert 23 into a freeway?

The middle carriageways are used for testing different kinds of pavement. The outer ones are used to carry mainline traffic when work is being done on the test sections, but mainly serve as frontage roads to the farms and businesses there. As far as converting it to freeway goes, I believe I saw a post somewhere on here that showed that either MORP or ODOT had that listed on their long range plan.

33 between Pomeroy and Columbus would be great at 60-65.

According to the ODOT speed change maps, 33 is:

55 from WV to OH 7
60 around Pomeroy and up to Darwin
55 from Darwin to and through Athens/The Plains
70 on the Nelsonville and Logan bypasses
60 through Rockbridge to Sugar Grove
70 on the Lancaster bypass
60 from Carroll to Columbus

[vtk]

Sorry for the off-topic, but why does US 23 explode into eight lanes between Delaware and Waldo? Are they planning to convert 23 into a freeway?

The middle carriageways are used for testing different kinds of pavement. The outer ones are used to carry mainline traffic when work is being done on the test sections, but mainly serve as frontage roads to the farms and businesses there. As far as converting it to freeway goes, I believe I saw a post somewhere on here that showed that either MORP or ODOT had that listed on their long range plan.

MORPC was considering it for inclusion in its most recent long-range plan, but then did not include it.

[PColumbus73]

It'd make more sense to me to have the speed limit set at an average rate (outside the urban areas) on 33. 65 would seem to be reasonable between Columbus and Logan/Nelsonville.

[thenetwork]

That 250 bypass extension always been interesting "what if" for me. Do you know what stopped the rest of it from being built? When was the last time there was any talk or studies about finishing it?

One plausible reason:  US-250 snakes through Norwalk, and about 80% of all the town's business is along that route (there is very little business along the US-20/SR-18 bypass, or even along SR-61 which still goes east-west through town.  They get a lot of Cedar Point Traffic in the summer, and completing the bypass to connect with the existing 4-lanes of US-250 just south of Milan would severely hurt a lot of the businesses' profits. 

In a sense, Norwalk is almost like a Breezewood in between two free-flowing sections of US-250 on either side.

[vtk]

It looks like someone at ODOT statewide or District 6 office decided it was silly to have the 65/70 transition exactly where the freeway crosses some arbitrary "urbanized area" boundary regardless of the conditions of the highway itself.  The 70 MPH zones on I-70 and I-71 have very recently been extended towards Columbus to about ¾ mile shy of the first interchange in the "urbanized" zone.  I-71's transition north of town is now just north of Gemini Pkwy, and south of town it's just south of OH 665, though when I observed on Monday the change was incomplete, with a 65 MPH sign remaining on 71 NB just past 62.  I-70's transition on the west side is now just west of Hilliard—Rome Rd (and I've calculated this should decrease travel time by 17 seconds); I have not observed I-70 on the east side recently.

[6a]

Ok yeah, I was heading out to London yesterday and thought I saw that but couldn't be sure. Common sense is a scary thing sometimes!

[GCrites]

It looks like someone at ODOT statewide or District 6 office decided it was silly to have the 65/70 transition exactly where the freeway crosses some arbitrary "urbanized area" boundary regardless of the conditions of the highway itself.  The 70 MPH zones on I-70 and I-71 have very recently been extended towards Columbus to about ¾ mile shy of the first interchange in the "urbanized" zone.  I-71's transition north of town is now just north of Gemini Pkwy, and south of town it's just south of OH 665, though when I observed on Monday the change was incomplete, with a 65 MPH sign remaining on 71 NB just past 62.  I-70's transition on the west side is now just west of Hilliard—Rome Rd (and I've calculated this should decrease travel time by 17 seconds); I have not observed I-70 on the east side recently.

I-70 E on the East Side between Downtown and Alum Creek Dr. actually got lowered to 55 around 2011 because semis kept bashing through the Jersey barriers on the Livingston Curve and falling into people's yards. They replaced the Jersey barriers with taller Single Plane at the same time.

[seicer]

I can't wait (if it happens) for I-271 and I-480 to go above 60 MPH. Woefully underposted.