Speed Limit 60 in NJ?

[bzakharin]

So yesterday, while driving on the Atlantic City Expressway, I noticed covered-up speed limit signs. One of them was partially exposed by the wind and appeared to say "Speed Limit 60". I've never seen such a limit in NJ before. Is it a mistake? A temporary construction installation? Or did I misread the partially covered-up sign?

[jeffandnicole]

The normal speed limit is 65.  Most construction speed limits are 45.

I would think you just mis-read a covered 65 sign, since 60 mph isn't used in NJ.  Where did you see the sign?

[roadman65]

That is very interesting that there is no 60 mph in not only NJ but many other states.  Its either 55 or 65, or better yet everything from 25 to 55 in 5 increments, then goes over 60 to 65.

Only in FL on two lane roads do we use 60 and some four lane rural highways and recently I-4 near Orlando in two places, plus MO on two lane roads, and Indiana uses it for rural four lane non freeway roads.

In NJ, DE, PA, NY, and possibly the NE states skip over 60 for some reason.  I find that most interesting.

[bzakharin]

The normal speed limit is 65.  Most construction speed limits are 45.

I would think you just mis-read a covered 65 sign, since 60 mph isn't used in NJ.  Where did you see the sign?

I think it was westbound toward the western terminus of the ACE.

That is very interesting that there is no 60 mph in not only NJ but many other states.  Its either 55 or 65, or better yet everything from 25 to 55 in 5 increments, then goes over 60 to 65.

Only in FL on two lane roads do we use 60 and some four lane rural highways and recently I-4 near Orlando in two places, plus MO on two lane roads, and Indiana uses it for rural four lane non freeway roads.

In NJ, DE, PA, NY, and possibly the NE states skip over 60 for some reason.  I find that most interesting.

I wonder about this as well, but, at least in NJ, signs ending in 5 are more common in general. You don't see 30 very often. 40 is skipped over on roads that reduce speeds from 45 to 35. It's usually reserved for when the entire road has that speed limit or as a step down from 45 to 25. 50 is only common on non-freeway divided highways and some 2-lane rural routes. I've seen 60 in Ohio and Washington state, but never in the northeastern US.

[02 Park Ave]

Before the politicians imposed the 55 mph national speed limit upon us, the speed limit on the Turnpike, on most of the Parkway, and on most other limited access highways was 60 mph.  However, it was 70 mph on the AC Expressway.

[TXtoNJ]

Construction signs, maybe?

[vdeane]

In NJ, DE, PA, NY, and possibly the NE states skip over 60 for some reason.  I find that most interesting.

I believe NY (outside of the city) used to skip 50 as well, though 50 has been becoming more common over the years.

[J Route Z]

There are some highways that have an unreasonable 50 or 55 mph limit and they should be raised to 60 or 65, depending on where it is. It's strange that the NE states don't have 60 mph speed limits. PA doesn't have them either, unless I'm mistaken.

[02 Park Ave]

I think that the I-95 in northern Virginia may have a 60 mph speed limit.

[Alps]

The reason 60 is so rare is that coming out from under the 55 mandate, the first speed that we allowed was 65. As states started raising limits from 55 to 65, 60 was skipped over by and large. Only as more roads have been upgraded toward 70 and beyond has 60 started to emerge as a posted speed on a number of roads. (To some degree, raising 55 to 60 is a relatively lower priority than raising 55 to 65 or beyond. The highest speed limits garner the most attention, too.)

[Roadrunner75]

I think this is the first 60 that I encountered - I-795 NW of Baltimore.
https://www.google.com/maps?ll=39.377892,-76.752178&spn=0.000004,0.002596&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.377969,-76.75272&panoid=2u50oqFLvzUucFmA_8WesA&cbp=12,345.11,,0,-1.33

[jeffandnicole]

I will say, now that I remember it, that I did see a 60 mph speed limit on the NJ Turnpike, once.  It was on one of the now-defunct vane display (seven segment) speed limit signs.  The sign before and after didn't have 60 mph. 

Due to the high tendency of those signs to not work properly, my guess is that 60 wasn't what it was supposed to say.  50 would be the next reasonable guess (60 would show if the lower left vertical bar was stuck), but that's a rarely used speed on the Turnpike.

[PHLBOS]

MA 3, at least between Braintree and MA 228, along the South Shore has a posted 60 mph speed limit.

[shadyjay]

The Connecticut Turnpike speed limit used to 60 MPH (pre-55 mandate), including the section west of New Haven.  I've got an old pic showing a Speed Limit 60 sign in the Orange area. 

[TXtoNJ]

Practically all freeways within Beltway 8 in Houston are posted at 60.

[PHLBOS]

Pre-NSL-55; MA 128's highest posted speed limit was 60 mph.  When the speed limit went down to 55 (where it remains to this day along I-95/MA 128); many of the signs had 55 stickers that had smaller numerals than the original 60s.  As a result, one could actually traces of the older, higher limit on several of those signs; some of which, between Newton & Dedham, survived into the late 80s/early 90s.

[Alps]

I will say, now that I remember it, that I did see a 60 mph speed limit on the NJ Turnpike, once.  It was on one of the now-defunct vane display (seven segment) speed limit signs.  The sign before and after didn't have 60 mph. 

Due to the high tendency of those signs to not work properly, my guess is that 60 wasn't what it was supposed to say.  50 would be the next reasonable guess (60 would show if the lower left vertical bar was stuck), but that's a rarely used speed on the Turnpike.

On the Turnpike mainline, all speeds end in 5. 65 or 55 is normal, subtract 10 for a work zone, 10 more for a complex work zone (multiple lane closures or shifts). My guess is that it meant to say 65 and was misprogrammed. I can't think of any circumstance when I've seen an x0 limit.

[jeffandnicole]

The only time I've seen 50 mph was a rare few times at the beginning of a snowfall, when snow was sticking on the shoulders but the travel lanes were OK. 

During the 6-9 widening, there was a speed limit sign stuck on 30.  The sign was located on Rt. 615 in the Cranberry area on an old overpass with a new overpass being built directly in front of it (http://goo.gl/maps/Jwrq8), but it doesn't appear to have been captured on GSV or BSV.

[jp the roadgeek]

I think this is the first 60 that I encountered - I-795 NW of Baltimore.
https://www.google.com/maps?ll=39.377892,-76.752178&spn=0.000004,0.002596&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=39.377969,-76.75272&panoid=2u50oqFLvzUucFmA_8WesA&cbp=12,345.11,,0,-1.33

And I-83 between the beltway and Hunt Valley.

I-84 in CT between Exits 25A and 33 would be a good candidate.

[roadman65]

Actually the Parkway was 60 mph north of Toms River and 65 south of Toms River.  Whether the 65 was allowed through the three at grade intersections, I cannot tell you.

I do however, remember a speed limit sign in Cranford saying 60 mph until the feds passed the national 55 law where they covered u the 60 afterwards.

Funny how after NJ raised the speed limits back up that some of the original 60 became 65 mph and the rest stayed at 55.  Like Alps said it had to do with coming out of the 55 and going to 65 caused many road agencies to skip over the 60 aspect, that might be the reason.

[SteveG1988]

GA signs i75 as 60 frequently.

[cl94]

Ohio loves their 60 mph limits. Almost everything near Cleveland is 60 (except the innerbelt, which is 50), as is some of the Akron area.

[bzakharin]

Ohio loves their 60 mph limits. Almost everything near Cleveland is 60 (except the innerbelt, which is 50), as is some of the Akron area.

Yeah, I've noticed that, but that must have something to do with their top speed being 70. Intervals of 10 seem to be common in speed limits.

[cl94]

Ohio loves their 60 mph limits. Almost everything near Cleveland is 60 (except the innerbelt, which is 50), as is some of the Akron area.

Yeah, I've noticed that, but that must have something to do with their top speed being 70. Intervals of 10 seem to be common in speed limits.

It was that way long before the jump to 70. No drops from 70 to 60, either, because Ohio limited 70 to designated "rural" areas. 65, however, is allowed in cities (outside of Cleveland and Akron, which are 60), with Columbus being almost entirely 65 outside of the Innerbelt, SR 315 south of Ackerman Road, I-70 between US 40/Broad Street and I-71 (all 55) and US 33 on the southeast side (60), even on pretty urban sections of freeway.

[1995hoo]

I think that the I-95 in northern Virginia may have a 60 mph speed limit.

Virginia has a fair amount of 60-mph postings.

I-95 is posted at 60 between just south of Occoquan and just north of the truck scales. It's 55 north of there and 65 south of there. (The reversible center carriageway is normally 65 throughout that area.) I-66 is posted at 60 from just west of US-29 in Centreville to just west of Route 234 Business near Manassas (again, 55 east of there, 65 west). There are other 60-mph zones on Virginia Interstates in various places. VDOT claims the 60-mph zones on Interstates are intended to "help drivers in making the transition from the higher rural speed limits to the slower 55-mph zones." I can't say I've ever noticed any difference.

Virginia posts various four-lane highways with at-grade intersections at 60 as well. Much of US-29, for example, is posted at 60; same applies to large portions of US-360 and 460. The big thing is that the General Assembly doesn't allow anything above 60 mph on any road with at-grade intersections. The non-freeways where 60 is allowed are all specified in the statute, too: VDOT can't just post any four-lane rural road at 60 mph.

I remember the first time I saw a 60-mph speed limit was in a work zone in South Carolina in the summer of 1991 riding on a charter bus on the way home from a school trip to Atlanta. Until the NMSL was repealed, that was the ONLY place I'd ever seen 60 on a sign (not counting metric speed limits in Canada or the signs at the border telling you "Maximum 60 changes to Maximum 100 km/h").