70 mph speed limit coming to Pa. Turnpike, interstates by May

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania's Secretary of Transportation says 70 mph speed limits will be coming to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and interstate highways in May.

For now, PennDOT and the turnpike commission are studying where to increase the speed limits.

It probably won't happen in more urban areas where the limit is now 55 mph instead of 65 mph. Generally, areas already posted 65 mph with mostly straight highway and few sharp curves will feature the new, higher speed limit.

The turnpike commission approved the higher speed limit earlier this month.

Turnpike officials say a 70 mph test on a 100-mile stretch between Morgantown and Blue Mountain found that there wasn't a noticeable increase in the actual average speed of vehicles, and there was a decrease in traffic accidents despite an increase in traffic.