More than 5,000 miles of U.S. and state highways in Minnesota will soon be getting a speed limit boost from 55 to 60 miles per hour.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation will increase speeds on 5,240 miles of highway based on the results of a five-year study completed last week. The study looked at more than 7,000 miles of highway, and speed limits were ultimately increased on 77 percent of rural, two-lane state highways.
The new speed limits will be in effect once new speed limit signs are posted, and MnDOT says most of the signs posting the new speeds are already in place. The rest are expected to be up by spring.
The study included collecting travel speed samples on each section of roadway and evaluating if the limit could safely be changed.