Illinois may increase speed limit 70

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Odd things in that article as they claim the tollways extend to the Wisconsin state line which neither does.  And why would a Wisconsin speed limit have any effect on an Illinois speed limit?

The portion of the Tri-State that goes up to 70 (including the free section leading into Wisconsin) is only about 3 miles long. It would be pointless to raise it if Wisconsin doesn't go to 70. The same thing applies to the stretch of the Addams they plan to raise to 70 mph. However, that section is quite a bit longer (about 10 miles?), so it makes more sense.

Speaking of such, I'm sure the section of the Addams under reconstruction will be a 70 zone once all is said and done. If I remember correctly, that section won't be finished until next year, so they simply didn't make a mention due to the circumstances.

To make things clear, they should do what Ohio did and create a map that defines the 70 zone limits. I'm still not sure what Northeast Illinois has in store.

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Bumping this thread because the speed increase is a little over a week away...

ISTHA is on record for which areas will observe the 70 mph speed limit, but did IDOT provide clarity into which zones will be 70? Granted, it's somewhat obvious, but I'd like to know.

[Brandon]

Bumping this thread because the speed increase is a little over a week away...

ISTHA is on record for which areas will observe the 70 mph speed limit, but did IDOT provide clarity into which zones will be 70? Granted, it's somewhat obvious, but I'd like to know.

IDOT dragged their feet on the entire thing.  It wouldn't shock me to see them try to pull an ODOT (Oregon).

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Forgive my ignorance, but how so?

[vdeane]

Oregon passed a law a while back raising the default speed limit on rural interstates to 70, such that lower limits should only be posted if conditions warranted.  ODOT decided that every millimeter of interstate was an "exception" to this default.

[Revive 755]

There have been a few newspaper articles that indicate IDOT will be posted the new speed limit, such as this one from the Newton (IL) paper:
http://www.pressmentor.com/article/20131205/NEWS/131209684/1994/NEWS

[US 41]

294 and 88 can be 65-70 mph, people are already pushing 90 mph on them anyways

Just because there are idiots on the road who like to drive at high speeds in less than ideal conditions (which, sadly, is the majority of drivers who use these roads), doesn't mean the state should cater to them. Upping the speed limits on these roads to an even 60 is good enough. I'm willing to be bet Cook, Dupage, and Lake Counties are willing to keep things as they are, and I don't blame them.

No.  The Tri-State and Northwest Tollways can handle 70 mph very well.  The exits are far enough apart, and the sight lines for 70 mph are very good.  Most folks already go 65-75 mph on both as it is, and it is well known that drivers tend to drive the road at a safe speed regardless of the whims of a legislature's posted speed limit.

IMHO, the only zones that should be less than 70 mph in the state are:

I-55/70: Missouri to Exit 4
I-55: Exit 290 to LSD
I-74: Iowa to Exit 5 (I-280)
I-74: Exit 87 to Exit 99 (I-474 at both ends)
I-80: Exit 130 to Exit 134
I-90: Exit 78 (I-190) to Exit 59A (Chicago Skyway)
I-94: Exit 29 (Edens Spur) to Exit 65
I-190: Entire length
I-290: Exit 12 to the Circle

I would also sign the express lanes of both the Ryan and the Kennedy at 70 mph.  Anything more than this is asinine, backwards, and reactionary, IMHO.  IDOT should take a clue (actually several clues) from MDOT and do as MDOT has done with the freeways in many cities from Benton Harbor to Detroit and Ann Arbor to Grand Rapids and maintain 70 mph unless there is a design issue.

I think I-74 in Champaign / Urbana should be Speed Limit 60 in my opinion.

[bahnburner]

Odd things in that article as they claim the tollways extend to the Wisconsin state line which neither does.  And why would a Wisconsin speed limit have any effect on an Illinois speed limit?

The portion of the Tri-State that goes up to 70 (including the free section leading into Wisconsin) is only about 3 miles long. It would be pointless to raise it if Wisconsin doesn't go to 70. The same thing applies to the stretch of the Addams they plan to raise to 70 mph. However, that section is quite a bit longer (about 10 miles?), so it makes more sense.

Speaking of such, I'm sure the section of the Addams under reconstruction will be a 70 zone once all is said and done. If I remember correctly, that section won't be finished until next year, so they simply didn't make a mention due to the circumstances.

To make things clear, they should do what Ohio did and create a map that defines the 70 zone limits. I'm still not sure what Northeast Illinois has in store.

It's funny, because the Tri State supposedly was at 70 mph north of Dempster St. and I-90 was supposedly at 70 mph west of Barrington Rd. pre-NMSL. Otherwise 65 mph for the rest of the tollways pre-NMSL.

I don't see why almost everything is at 55 mph. Remember the 80 mph enforced limit article? So let's see... 55 mph is dangerous on our tollways AND makes no apparent difference in revenue, since 80 mph seems to be the enforced limit. But the penalties for speeding are higher. The threshold for excessive speeding will be lowered to +26 mph next year. That is 81 mph in 55 zones. 1 mph over the enforced limit is a Class B misdemeanor. Ah, but insurance premiums or surcharges would surely go up for those drivers caught over 80 mph! Illinois is HQ to two of the largest insurers in the nation: Allstate and Statefarm. I'm just trying to see who's really benefiting from 55. Am I connecting the dots right?

[JREwing78]

To be fair, if the speed limit is set to reflect how the road was engineered, then 26mph over the limit SHOULD have some kind of criminal penalty associated with it. It's having underposted speed limits that aren't enforced that breeds contempt for speed limits in general.

[Brandon]

State releases map for new 70 mph speed limit

The map was released about two weeks after a Chicago Tribune analysis showed that the actual speed limit — the point at which most motorists are ticketed on interstates in the 6-county Chicago region — is about 80 mph. Earlier Tribune research showed that 9 of 10 cars on the tollway disregard the 55-mph speed limit. The average speed in those stretches was 66-70 mph, Tribune research found.

Map of where speed limit will increase to 70 mph

[nwi_navigator_1181]

The zones are pretty much what I thought they would be. I'm sure I-90 between Elgin and Rockford will be revisited once all projects in that area are completed.

The surprise is that the QC will see the bump, and that the small stretch of I-180 gets it too. Everything else was pretty much a given.

[Brandon]

The zones are pretty much what I thought they would be. I'm sure I-90 between Elgin and Rockford will be revisited once all projects in that area are completed.

The surprise is that the QC will see the bump, and that the small stretch of I-180 gets it too. Everything else was pretty much a given.

Problem is, it doesn't address everything nor go far enough.  If IDOT and ISTHA followed state law and incorporated the speed study data into their results, the zones would include the entire Tri-State Twy, most of I-55 inside I-294, all of I-88, all of I-355, and I-290 west of I-294 as well as all of I-80.

[Joe The Dragon]

The zones are pretty much what I thought they would be. I'm sure I-90 between Elgin and Rockford will be revisited once all projects in that area are completed.

The surprise is that the QC will see the bump, and that the small stretch of I-180 gets it too. Everything else was pretty much a given.

Problem is, it doesn't address everything nor go far enough.  If IDOT and ISTHA followed state law and incorporated the speed study data into their results, the zones would include the entire Tri-State Twy, most of I-55 inside I-294, all of I-88, all of I-355, and I-290 west of I-294 as well as all of I-80.

Why not at least 60-65? for them?

Also I hope that I-90 will get it when the road work is over.

[Zmapper]

Crews were out changing signs on I-88 earlier today.

[Revive 755]

The accuracy of the map is questionable:  I-74 inside the I-280/I-80 loop and I-57 through Kankakee will be 70 while I-55/I-72 through Springfield will not?  And is the speed limit not going up to 70 through Mount Vernon and Effingham, or is the text just obscuring the roadway?

[Brandon]

Why not at least 60-65? for them?

What's the difference in a mere 5 mph?  Might as well make it 70 instead of 65; more people will be legal that way.

[jnewkirk77]

The accuracy of the map is questionable:  I-74 inside the I-280/I-80 loop and I-57 through Kankakee will be 70 while I-55/I-72 through Springfield will not?  And is the speed limit not going up to 70 through Mount Vernon and Effingham, or is the text just obscuring the roadway?

Given the congestion at both Mt. V and Effingham, I would be shocked to see those areas go to 70.  65 is almost too fast on some days, especially at Mt. Vernon.

[Brandon]

The accuracy of the map is questionable:  I-74 inside the I-280/I-80 loop and I-57 through Kankakee will be 70 while I-55/I-72 through Springfield will not?  And is the speed limit not going up to 70 through Mount Vernon and Effingham, or is the text just obscuring the roadway?

Given the congestion at both Mt. V and Effingham, I would be shocked to see those areas go to 70.  65 is almost too fast on some days, especially at Mt. Vernon.

70 is fine for them.  Congestion is just a lame-ass excuse for not properly setting a limit.

[Revive 755]

Interesting that the map has at least part of the US 67 freeway bypass of Jacksonville going to 70.  I'm guessing has is some technicality with the business loop for 72 being on that stretch.

[Brandon]

Interesting that the map has at least part of the US 67 freeway bypass of Jacksonville going to 70.  I'm guessing has is some technicality with the business loop for 72 being on that stretch.

Given that there are not too many non-interstate freeways in Illinois of any substantial length, I'm not too surprised at the lack of them on the map.

[hobsini2]

I am a bit surprised that according to the map the 70 zone on I-88 west doesn't start at the 56 Sugar Grove split but rather by Maple Grove.

[adt1982]

The accuracy of the map is questionable:  I-74 inside the I-280/I-80 loop and I-57 through Kankakee will be 70 while I-55/I-72 through Springfield will not?  And is the speed limit not going up to 70 through Mount Vernon and Effingham, or is the text just obscuring the roadway?

Given the congestion at both Mt. V and Effingham, I would be shocked to see those areas go to 70.  65 is almost too fast on some days, especially at Mt. Vernon.

70 is fine for them.  Congestion is just a lame-ass excuse for not properly setting a limit.

55/72 around Springfield needs an extra lane in each direction first.

[US 41]

I'm surprised it's going to be 70 through Champaign, but maybe it's just me.

[tdindy88]

I'm surprised too by Champaign, that highway just seems a bit busy for a few miles, but if 70 works in Chicago (wink, wink) then it may be fine there. I saw that the stretch of 55/74 in Bloomington is 70, probably with the newly rebuilt highway there it works. Similar projects around Springfield, Effingham and Mt. Vernon would probably bump those up to 70 as well.

[Brandon]

The accuracy of the map is questionable:  I-74 inside the I-280/I-80 loop and I-57 through Kankakee will be 70 while I-55/I-72 through Springfield will not?  And is the speed limit not going up to 70 through Mount Vernon and Effingham, or is the text just obscuring the roadway?

Given the congestion at both Mt. V and Effingham, I would be shocked to see those areas go to 70.  65 is almost too fast on some days, especially at Mt. Vernon.

70 is fine for them.  Congestion is just a lame-ass excuse for not properly setting a limit.

55/72 around Springfield needs an extra lane in each direction first.

And for some reason 70 is fine for a similar section of I-94 in Jackson, Michigan.

If it's good enough there, it's good enough here.  IDOT can knock it off with the "not invented here" crappola.