Highest speed limits on 2-lane roads

[Michael]

As I've seen in many posts about other states, the state speed limit in NY is 55 unless otherwise posted.  There is a speed limit of 65 on Interstates and other freeways, such as the Camillus Bypass (NY 5 near Syracuse).  I don't know about western NY and Downstate though.

Some surface roads are hard to do only 55 on though.  Around Auburn and Seneca Falls, there's NY 38, NY 34, NY 414 (south of I-90), NY 31, NY 38A, NY 5, and US 20.  On NY 31, there's an area known locally as the Montezuma Flats, and people like to race through them.  Here's a Google Street View of the Montezuma Flats.

[un1]

In Ontario the speed limit for most 2 lane roads in Southern Ontario is 80 (km/per hour). Where in Northern Ontario they are 90 (km per hour). Secondary highways are all at 80 except for one which really should be a primary (speed is 90).
Freeways are generally at 100 (in urban areas or dangerous areas the speed limit is lower).

[ComputerGuy]

WA: 45 mph

Recently in the news:

GRANDMA IN SALEM, OR GOES 103 MPH ON 2-LANE ROAD TO TEACH GRANDSON A LESSON

[mightyace]

GRANDMA IN SALEM, OR GOES 103 MPH ON 2-LANE ROAD TO TEACH GRANDSON A LESSON

CG, do you have a link for that?

[ComputerGuy]

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090401/NEWS/904010466/1001 - StatesmanJournal

[Roadgeekteen]

Highest I have seen is 55. Yes, I live in the northeast. 55 is rare around where I live.

[oscar]

Alaska allows 65 mph on its paper Interstates, including the ones that come nowhere near Interstate standards, so some of its better two-lanes roads get the 65mph limit.

Hawaii recently approved 60mph limits for part of two-lane HI 200 on the Big Island, which has in the past few years been improved from one of the state's most dangerous roads to one of the best. Hawaii, alas, won't post anything over 60mph even on its Interstates in the Honolulu area.

Texas has a lot of 75mph two-lanes, most prevalent in west Texas but I've seen them in south Texas as well.

[Tonytone]

Highest in Delaware is 55. Our highways however vary from 50-65.

[ColossalBlocks]

Missouri uses a maximum speed of 60 on major state highways, on Missouri's secondary highways, the maximum is 55, except for M highway.

[capt.ron]

In Arkansas, All 2 lane rural highways are signed at 55 mph. "5 lane expressways" (rural sections) have a 60 mph limit. 4 lane rural divided highways are signed at 65 mph.  Rural controlled access highways are signed at 70 mph (whether US, State, or Interstate).

I wish AHTD would bump their limits up some. I say, take a page from TXDOT.
2 lane highways: 60-65-70. 60 for curvy roads with limited ROW. 65 for wider open ROW. 70 for straighter 2 lane roads (commonly found in the eastern part of the state.)
4 lane divided highways: 65 to 70 depending on road density.
Rural controlled access highways: 75; 70 for hilly / curvy sections. 65 for urban sections.
5 lane highways: 70; 65 in curvy-hilly areas.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I drove a 75 MPH 2-lane road in Texas in 2015 and honestly I felt it was unnerving and don't really want to do so again, or at least not at night.

[english si]

The UK has some with 70mph limits that aren't long enough to hold 70mph for more than a second or two as the motorway speed limit doesn't specify standards.

Isle of Man has no top speed limit, though there are lower speed limits (20mph, 30mph, 40mph, 50mph). I would say that the islands roads aren't overly suitable for going flat out due to the island's rural areas being fairly hilly and the roads curvy, but I gather average joes regularly drive at high speeds - and not just the 200mph-topping TT racers.

[Tonytone]

I drove a 75 MPH 2-lane road in Texas in 2015 and honestly I felt it was unnerving and don't really want to do so again, or at least not at night.

It depends on the situation in Pa where part of the Highway is 70Mph it goes through mountains & a woods but around the curves where you're "supposed to go 60" it can be pretty scary next to a semi truck that is going 80 around a curve at night.


iPhone

[1995hoo]

At some point in the past, there were apparently two-lane roads in Australia's Northern Territory with no speed limit. They now have speed limits, but I believe there may be at least one posted at 130 km/h (81 mph).

[vdeane]

The highest I've seen is 100 kph on Autoroute 955.  Being from the northeast, the only place I've seen limits above 55 on non-freeways are certain sections of Québec autoroutes and Corridor L.

[Max Rockatansky]

I drove a 75 MPH 2-lane road in Texas in 2015 and honestly I felt it was unnerving and don't really want to do so again, or at least not at night.

U.S. 62/180 east of El Paso is kind of a wild ride any time of the day but especially at night.  The lanes are kind of wide along with the shoulders, surprisingly I thought the design was decent. U.S. 90 east of Van Horn is similar with 75 MPH speed limits. 

[RobbieL2415]

Highest I've ever physically driven on is 55mph, in NY (NY 22) and MA (US 7 and MA 8).  CT can, by statute, also go up to 55 on non-limited-access roads but chooses not to do it.  There are stretches of US 6 in Tolland/Windham Counties that could probably go there but don't probably because of local opposition, for example.

[MNHighwayMan]

I'm surprised TheHighwayMan394 hasn't mentioned the multitude of 2-lane highways MnDOT has, in the last ~two years or so, raised the speed limit to 60 (from 55) on in rural Minnesota.

[Ace10]

US 95 in Oregon, which I believe is a 2-lane road, had its speed limit increased to 70 mph from 55 mph I believe. The increase happened last year in March. Oregon's default statutory limit for rural roads is 55 mph (65 mph on interstate highways).

[froggie]

I'm surprised TheHighwayMan394 hasn't mentioned the multitude of 2-lane highways MnDOT has, in the last ~two years or so, raised the speed limit to 60 (from 55) on in rural Minnesota.

Probably because this thread was necro'd so far back everyone forgot about it, until the new kid came along...

[Tonytone]

I'm surprised TheHighwayMan394 hasn't mentioned the multitude of 2-lane highways MnDOT has, in the last ~two years or so, raised the speed limit to 60 (from 55) on in rural Minnesota.

Probably because this thread was necro'd so far back everyone forgot about it, until the new kid came along...

2 New kids thank you.

[kphoger]

Missouri uses a maximum speed of 60 on major state highways, on Missouri's secondary highways, the maximum is 55, except for M highway.

False.  Missouri posts up to 65 mph on its state highways.  Case in point.

[doorknob60]

US 95 in Oregon, which I believe is a 2-lane road, had its speed limit increased to 70 mph from 55 mph I believe. The increase happened last year in March. Oregon's default statutory limit for rural roads is 55 mph (65 mph on interstate highways).

True. Several other highways (including large sections of US-20, US-395, US-97) had their limits increased from 55 to 65 as well. Over in Idaho, some state highways have been increased from 65 to 70 now too very recently. US-95 north of Coeur D Alene is one (though that stretch is 4 lane freeway). I believe parts of US-20, including both a 2 lane stretch and a 4 lane freeway stretch, have been increased from 65 to 70 in Idaho, though I have not confirmed it myself. These states were mentioned (with different numbers) by Corco earlier in the thread, but, uh, it's not 2009 anymore!

But for a short amount of time, the highest 2 lane speed limit in Oregon was higher than the highest 2 lane speed limit in Idaho. That's crazy and backwards

[epzik8]

As far as back roads go, a lot on Maryland's Eastern Shore are posted at 40.

[intelati49]

Missouri uses a maximum speed of 60 on major state highways, on Missouri's secondary highways, the maximum is 55, except for M highway.

False.  Missouri posts up to 65 mph on its state highways.  Case in point.

There's also at least a stretch at 65 for US60 in Neosho.