As of July 1st, motorists can legally drive 70 miles per hour on interstate highways “outside urbanized areas.” The new designations follow recently passed legislation permitting speeds to increase from 65 to 70 mph on certain sections of interstate highways.
The new law increases the speed on 570 miles out of 1,332 miles of interstate highways in Ohio. The exact location of the speed increases are:
Interstate 70 – From the Indiana border in the west to just outside of Wheeling, WV in the east, excluding Dayton, Columbus and Zanesville
Interstate 71 – From the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge in southwest Ohio to just south of the border of the Cuyahoga/Medina County line in the north, excluding Columbus
Interstate 75 – From just outside of Toledo going south until just north of Dayton, excluding Findlay and Lima
Interstate 76 – From just outside Akron going east to just west of Youngstown
Interstate 77 – From just outside of Canton south to the West Virginia border
Interstate 90 – From just outside of Cleveland to the Pennsylvania border
The 70 mph speed limit is not new to Ohio. Motorists are already legally permitted to drive 70 miles per hour on all 241 miles of the Ohio Turnpike.
2 comments on “New speed limits in Ohio”
why is Cuyahoga county and the city of Cleveland excluded from the new increase in speed limits?
Tony,
That’s a good question. According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, only certain stretches of the interstate highways were selected based on population. The speed increase does not cover sections of those roads in major metropolitan areas and a few smaller cities along the way.
However, more roadways will see an increased speed limit in the near future. Ohio is also raising speeds on more rural roadways. An amendment to the state budget bill includes an increase to 70 mph on “rural freeways.”
No word yet on which freeways will be affected; sources say it will be up to ODOT to make that decision.
Thanks for your comment! — MotorEagles