Highest speed limit on an undivided highway?

[realjd]

All these states are out west. I know here in Florida the 2-lane roads go up to 60. Are there any other Eastern states with a 2-lane road speed limit higher than 55?

[agentsteel53]

doesn't Mississippi go up to 65 on two-laners?  or Alabama?  I could swear I've seen some 65s on roads in those states.

I think North Carolina also has some undivided four-laners that are 60, especially in the Outer Banks part of the state where the roads are relatively flat and the population density is fairly low.

[agentsteel53]

as for the northeast, of course good luck with that.  except I know that Massachusetts has repealed its codified 1930s State Speed Limit of 40. So when you come across a 1960s "END SPEED ZONE" sign - congratulations, you are in a zone with technically no speed limit at all!  I know that as of 2006 there was one such sign left in the state, on an old town-to-town connector road near Brimfield.  It's probably gone by now.  Was surely fun flooring it as much as I could, over the bumps and around the curves, and doing a legal ... 51.  Okay, wasn't quite as fun as I'd imagined it would be.

[Tarkus]

I think there are 65-ers elsewhere in Washington though.

There's several 65s. SR 26 is 65 for pretty much its whole length, US-395 has lots of 65 MPH stretches where it's off freeway, I think 24 is 65, 97 heading from Wenatchee north is 65, I think 28 has 65 stretches. There's probably a bunch I'm forgetting, but generally the two digit east-west roads and US routes in eastern Washington have 65 stretches (20 may be an exception-it's been a couple years). US-12 alternates back and forth from 60 to 65, if memory serves correctly.

97 through much of Satus Pass, up until a few miles south of Toppenish is a 65 as well.  There's quite a few 3-digit routes that are 65s as well . . . I believe parts of 240, 243, 260 and 261 are 65s as well.  The statutory limit for any signed route is 60 in WA, as I recall.  It's 50 if it's unsigned, which kinda sucks out in the eastern part of the state. 

Oregon is, unfortunately, all arbitrary 55s, even out in the middle of the desert.  With the way the state government typically is, I don't anticipate they'll be doing anything about that.  The only way it'll happen is with a ballot measure.

-Alex (Tarkus)

[agentsteel53]

Oregon and Washington are definitely two states that could use a Speed Limit 85 in a lot of rural areas.  Really, has anyone seen the traffic counts on certain segments of US-95 and US-395 in Oregon, or US-195 and WA-21 in Washington?

[agentsteel53]

I have heard the United Arab Emirates has the speed limit of 160km/h (99mph) on several roads built for high speed.  Are any of those two-laners?

(as far as I know, 160 km/h is the highest numerically well-defined speed limit on the planet.)

[Duke87]

Connecticut never goes above 50 on non-freeways, and even that is an exceptional case. Most high grade semi-rural to rural roads are 40 or 45. We're timid...

And it isn't for revenue enhancement, either. The CT Smokies don't patrol very much.

[corco]

US-195 and WA-21 in Washington

195? That's a pretty busy road.

21 is like a vast amount of emptiness for its entire duration. At no point is it ever an important connector. That has a good case for "longest highway in the country you could decommission and nobody would notice". Make the speed limit 150. Who cares?

[Tarkus]

US-195 and WA-21 in Washington

21 is like a vast amount of emptiness for its entire duration. At no point is it ever an important connector. That has a good case for "longest highway in the country you could decommission and nobody would notice". Make the speed limit 150. Who cares?

And yet, it looks like 21's almost entirely a 55.  Talk about arbitrary.

-Alex (Tarkus)

[relaxok]

US-195 and WA-21 in Washington

195? That's a pretty busy road.

21 is like a vast amount of emptiness for its entire duration. At no point is it ever an important connector. That has a good case for "longest highway in the country you could decommission and nobody would notice". Make the speed limit 150. Who cares?

Also, I took WA-112 out to Neah Bay and Ozette and back in the middle of the day on a weekend and didn't see another car the entire time... 

Sorry if I got the speed wrong on 101 - maybe it was 60 or something.. The terror of those logging trucks flying by you with nothing but a yellow dotted line at 70 mph is something that was seared in my brain

[national highway 1]

remote outback desert highways it is 130km/h (80 mph)

does this include two-laners?  if so, we may have a winner!

Yes, the Stuart Highway in Central Australia is a sealed 2 lane highway with hundereds of miles between towns.

[corco]

And yet, it looks like 21's almost entirely a 55.  Talk about arbitrary.

It doesn't have shoulders for most of its length- roads without shoulders tend to be 55 in Washington

Also, I took WA-112 out to Neah Bay and Ozette and back in the middle of the day on a weekend and didn't see another car the entire time... 

112 is fun because west of the Sekiu cutoff there are one or two places where the shoulder is designated as a passing lane- the signs read something like "DRIVE IN SHOULDER DURING DAYLIGHT ONLY." I didn't get passed in those stretches when I did the drive, but it was sufficiently narrow that it would be a fairly shady passing manuever

[Michael in Philly]

70mph, not that you'd reach it. Currently carries a 20mph advisory speed limit for loose chippings, which there aren't any of.

Standard roads in the UK have a national speed limit of 60mph (for cars, 40mph for trucks) on undivided roads and 70mph (for cars, 50mph for trucks) on divided roads. However motorways are dealt with separately in the legislation and have a 70mph speed limit (for cars, 60mph for trucks, though the EU-wide 90km/h speed limiters means that they can't reach that). This means that a single-carriageway section of motorway has a limit of 70mph. The only problem is that there are no places where you can reach that speed without having to slow down after a few seconds - here's the longest bit of undivided motorway status road, it's about 1000ft between two roundabouts.

Scotland makes it explicit here, rather than implied, with 70mph signs.

What's the "undivided motorway-status road" there?  The map opens to a bit of the A6 - it wouldn't be A6(M)?
Also, it's interesting that there's a business, or shopping center, of some sort just northwest of there labeled "Freeway Commerce."  Didn't expect to see the word "freeway" in England.

Cheers!

[english si]

What's the "undivided motorway-status road" there?  The map opens to a bit of the A6 - it wouldn't be A6(M)?

the road informally known as the Walton Summit Motorway. It's not part of the A6, nor meets the A6 (or any A road for that matter). Google maps is poor there.

Also, it's interesting that there's a business, or shopping center, of some sort just northwest of there labeled "Freeway Commerce."  Didn't expect to see the word "freeway" in England.

It's Hollywood's fault!

[Mergingtraffic]

Connecticut never goes above 50 on non-freeways, and even that is an exceptional case. Most high grade semi-rural to rural roads are 40 or 45. We're timid...

And it isn't for revenue enhancement, either. The CT Smokies don't patrol very much.

I have noticed that on NY 55 it's 55mph and cross into CT on CT 55, it goes down to 45.  Same road! 

However, on CT63 in Bethany and Naugatuck there is a 50mph and they recently put up new 50mph signs that almost "extend" the limit zone farther west.  I'm sure it's not really an extension but there were never that many signs.  And the area is getting developed too. Shhhh keep it quiet!

[cjk374]

Louisiana makes it simple: 

2-lane road (with or without shoulders)--55 mph

Interstate inside the incorporated limits of a town with more than 75,000 population:  60 or less

4-land divided, non-interstate grade--65 mph

Interstate grade--70 mph

[Michael in Philly]

Louisiana makes it simple: 

2-lane road (with or without shoulders)--55 mph

Interstate inside the incorporated limits of a town with more than 75,000 population:  60 or less

4-land divided, non-interstate grade--65 mph

Interstate grade--70 mph

Only drawback I see there is not knowing the population of, say, Monroe and exactly where the city limits fall.  And do they remember to tell you when you're leaving the city?

[Dr Frankenstein]

In Québec, the standard on undivided two-laners is 90 km/h (55 mph). There are exceptions though: two-laners that have an "autoroute" designation; they may be super-twos or not. For example, A-955 is a two-laner with at-grade intersections and stops, and its speed limit is 100 km/h (60 mph). A-55 and A-20 have super-two sections, and are 100 km/h on most of their lengths.

However, nothing, even freeways, ever gets a speed limit of more than 100 km/h in QC, even in clear warm weather. Which sucks.

[agentsteel53]

However, nothing, even freeways, ever gets a speed limit of more than 100 km/h in QC, even in clear warm weather. Which sucks.

James Bay Road.  Posted at 100, but absolutely no highway patrol.  We were doing 70-110mph the whole way.

[cjk374]

Louisiana makes it simple: 

2-lane road (with or without shoulders)--55 mph

Interstate inside the incorporated limits of a town with more than 75,000 population:  60 or less

4-land divided, non-interstate grade--65 mph

Interstate grade--70 mph

Only drawback I see there is not knowing the population of, say, Monroe and exactly where the city limits fall.  And do they remember to tell you when you're leaving the city?

They post SPEED ZONE AHEAD (or the new speed limit sign on the yellow diamond with up arrow above it), then the lower speed limit sign a little ways further after that.  In Shreveport/Bossier City the speed limit drops to 50 mph. as you approach the Red River (westbound) and the I-49 interchange (eastbound).  They also post city limit signs as you enter, but you have to be on the look out for the speed limit signs when they change.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

US-72 in AL between Athens and Rogersville used to be posted 65 MPH.  It's a 4 lane road with no more than a double yellow in the middle.  Now it's posted 60/45 when wet (apparently the road wasn't engineered properly and water frequently pools up in the roadway, causing far more hydroplaning than is normal in wet conditions.)

Texas has no statutory distinction between road types, so most of its rural 2-laners are posted 70.  Some out in the western part of the state are even 75.

[BigMattFromTexas]

U.S. 90 outside of Del Rio - 75
U.S. 385 outside Big Bend -75
Every other U.S. highway in Texas - 70
State routes are usually 70 then have sAdopted
igns saying "Truck Speed Limit - 60". But most roads in Texas are 70.
BigMatt

[Sykotyk]

The truck speed limits in Texas are for any road over 70mph and for all FM routes (usually 10 less than the regular speed limit).

[Compulov]

NJ's highest two-lane road's S.L. is a frighteningly high 55 on three roads (NJ 70, 72, CR 539 all in the Pinelands).

I've been on that part of 539. I always joked that the 55 limit is because the government wants to get you away from Ft Dix as fast as possible, since I think that's the only 55 section on 539. It's not bad during the day, but there's a *lot* of deer out there at night.

I always thought 55 on a two-lane undivided highway was high until I saw the 65 zone on AZ-74 near Lake Pleasant for the first time. Guess if you're gonna hit someone head on, does 110 vs 130 combined mph really make much of a difference?

[ethanman62187]

I bet there are some 75 mph speed limits on any freeway that is undivided.