View Speed limits in a larger map

Drivers in northern Wake County will see a slight increase in the speed limit later this month on the 540 Outer Loop.

The state Department of Transportation says it will post new signs bumping the legal limit up to 70mph, from the current 65mph, on a 21-mile stretch of the loop from U.S. 70 near Brier Creek to the U.S. 64 / 264 interchange near Knightdale.

DOT engineers concluded the faster speeds were justified after checking current speeds, crash data and road conditions on the 540 loop.

The Regional Transportation Alliance, a non-profit business group that lobbies for road and transit improvements, had asked DOT to allow the higher speed on 540 and other Triangle-area freeways. DOT said yes last year to faster speeds on Wade Avenue Extension in West Raleigh (60mph) and on from Apex through Sanford (70mph).

View Faster US 1 speed limit: 70mph in a larger map

NCDOT says it will bump up the speed limit later this month on about 25 miles of U.S. 1 from Apex through Sanford -- allowing drivers to go 70mph instead of the current 65mph limit.

The new speed limit will cover U.S. 1 from its new interchange with the Triangle Expressway 540 Outer Loop in southern Apex (which opens to traffic in December) to a spot just north of Tramway in Lee County, on the south side of Sanford, through parts of Wake, Chatham and Lee counties.

NCDOT concluded the higher speed limit was justified after considering current speeds, the crash history and characteristics of the roadway alignment on this part of U.S. 1.

View Wade Avenue: 60mph in a larger map

After a study confirmed that most drivers are going 65mph -- safely -- on the busy Wade Avenue Extension in West Raleigh, NCDOT has raised the speed limit from 55mph to 60mph.

Lead-foot drivers and other folks, is this a good idea? Let me hear from you, and don't forget your name and workday phone number. [2/16/12 update: see today's story with reader comments.]

DOT made the change after considering a recommendation from the Regional Transportation Alliance, a transportation-advocacy business group. The change covers about two miles, from I-40 to a spot about 500 feet west of the I-440 Beltline.  Then it drops to 45mph, and then after Ridge Road to 35mph. 

DOT engineers also will study other freeway routes around the Triangle for a possible speed-limit increase from 65mph now to 70mph.

RTA's wish list also includes

- the entire 540 Outer Loop,
- US 1 from Cary to Sanford,
- the N.C. 147 Durham Freeway (from the future East End Connector in East Durham to I-40 and continuing on the new tolled portion of Triangle Expressway through RTP to NC 540), and
- I-40 between Aviation Parkway and Lake Wheeler Road.

View Glenwood speed limit in a larger map

NCDOT says it has reduced the speed limit from 55mph to 45mph on a three-mile stretch of Glenwood Avenue (US 70) from Duraleigh Road to the Umstead State Park entrance.

That gives Glenwood a consistent 45mph limit all the way from Oberlin Road to the Westgate / Lumley road interchange.

The slowdown was ordered after a traffic safety study, requested by Raleigh police, concluded that higher speeds ... [MORE]