Will VDOT approve raising the speed limit to 70mph more Virginia roads?

It is no secret that few people on Virginia’s interstates actually drive the 65 mile per hour speed limit.  Now the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is considering raising to 70 mph the speed limit along some stretches of highway in the state.

Proponents of the move believe that the speed increase will help congestion by getting people where they need to be faster.  Critics believe that more speed translates to more auto accidents, and some have noted that since we are facing and energy crisis we should be looking for ways to reduce fuel consumption, not raise it by driving faster.

VDOT is planning a three-phase study to evaluate whether or not the speed limit can be increased on stretches of road that they believe would most benefit from an increase, without leading to crashes.  There is already a 38 mile stretch of I-85 in the Tidewater area that has a posted 70 mile per hour speed limit.  This is because lawmakers pushed for this change in 2007 in order to alleviate congestion.

Areas to be studied for a speed limit increase include I-64 from Clifton Forge to the West Virginia border, I-81 in Botetourt County between mile markers 151 and 179, and I-95 from Ashland to Kings Dominion.