Speed limit now 70 MPH in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: best, build, pay)

[pman]

Originally Posted by Whatdoesthefoxsay65

Well, I don't think they should raise it on 76 in the city. Seems like everyday there's an accident and a faster speed limit is bound to cause problems.

it seems unlikely that you'd get up to a faster speed on the schuylkill, a road where the sudden stop is the rule rather than the exception
One dead, several injured in I-76 crash - Philly.com

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by Whatdoesthefoxsay65

Well, I don't think they should raise it on 76 in the city.

Not applicable ... Although I can count on one hand the number of times I've been able to surpass 60 mph on the Schuylkill in the nine years I've lived here.

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

The maximum speed limit in Pennsylvania will be raised to 70 MPH next summer. It appears that the entire length of the Pennsylvania Turnpike will have a 70 MPH limit

The turnpike isn't exactly the marvel of modern engineering that it was considered to be when it was first constructed. 60-65 mph on most parts of that highway seems about right to me. Assuming the cops will allow their regular 5mph buffer to the speed limit, I just can't see most areas of the PA turnpike being safe at 75mph. The road surface seems just too ****ty and narrow in too many places.

[thunderkat59]

I was just on the T-P 4 days ago and the signs havent been changed.
From New Stanton to Valley Forge, I didnt see one 70mph sign Doesnt matter, I :heart: going slow
One thing that I find amusing about the PA turnpike is the amount of projects that never seem to come to an end. the highest toll rate in the country, and Im still hitting the same potholes in a 2013 Focus that we hit in a '68 Corvair :lolz:

[ki0eh]

I wonder if this means that the way too slow posted brand new roads around State College will now be way way too slow.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by pman

, a road where the sudden stop is the rule rather than the exception

The cause of that is disruptions to the traffic flow, there was this really interesting simulation I saw once that showed what happened when a group of faster moving cars many miles long came upon a slow moving car. It creates a wave is the best description I can make and that wave can move through the line of traffic for miles. The big issue is when you have someone slow to react such as if they are behind a truck and can't see what is going on ahead or someone tailgating, in cases like that they slow down quickly and the wave gets compressed giving the people behind them less time to react.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by thunderkat59

the highest toll rate in the country,

Half the tolls go directly to PennDOT and are not used for the TP, something like 500 million a year. The first year by itself they had to pay about $1 billion which would of funded the TP for about 2 years using their current budget.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike
In July 2007, Governor Rendell signed Act 44 into law, requiring the PTC to make payments to PennDOT for statewide transportation needs. In order to provide the payments, the PTC must increase its toll rates each year. A key part of Act 44 was the application to the Federal Highway Administration for permission to place tolls on Interstate 80 (I-80). The tolls would have funded I-80’s reconstruction and payments to PennDOT. After three years of studies (Click here for timeline), the federal government denied the application to convert I-80 to a tolled facility. The PTC, however, still must continue to make significant payments to PennDOT. In addition to increased toll rates along the PA Turnpike, it is likely the PTC will have to cut spending on its own long-term projects and capital expenses, to maintain the mandated level of funding to PennDOT.

• The PTC has paid $4.075 Billion to PennDOT to date.
• The PTC must pay $450 Million each year, through the year 2057.
• By the end of the 50-year lease period outlined in the law, the PTC will have provided nearly $24 billion in supplemental funding Non-Turnpike projects.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

The cause of that is disruptions to the traffic flow, there was this really interesting simulation I saw once that showed what happened when a group of faster moving cars many miles long came upon a slow moving car. It creates a wave is the best description I can make and that wave can move through the line of traffic for miles. The big issue is when you have someone slow to react such as if they are behind a truck and can't see what is going on ahead or someone tailgating, in cases like that they slow down quickly and the wave gets compressed giving the people behind them less time to react.

Going around a corner and finding slow or stopped traffic can be a problem. There are always some that are distracted and cannot stop. Fortunately; most of the highways, with the faster speed limits, will not have big corners.

As far as your compression wave comparison: That can be tricky because of motorist thinking that they can now go; only to find out they have to come to another stop.

All of this is about percentages. There will always be that small percentage of motorist that are not fully paying attention or did not allow enough stopping distance.

I always liked Ohio's work zones because they try to keep traffic moving by higher speed limits in their work zones and utilizing the shoulders of their Interstate highways. I always felt safer and saw fewer accidents.

[pman]

Originally Posted by Sealtite

The turnpike isn't exactly the marvel of modern engineering that it was considered to be when it was first constructed. 60-65 mph on most parts of that highway seems about right to me. Assuming the cops will allow their regular 5mph buffer to the speed limit, I just can't see most areas of the PA turnpike being safe at 75mph. The road surface seems just too ****ty and narrow in too many places.

the flow of traffic on the turnpike is generally about 80 and I don't find that speed unsafe with a few exceptions. cars simply handle better than they used to and the turnpike is also a better road. while we all like to complain about the turnpike, it has improved a lot over the last 15 years (tolls notwithstanding). there will still be some sections where a slower speed makes sense.

coalman-that's exactly right and the volume of traffic on 76 exacerbates the problem. there are a few notorious places such of the conshohocken curve where you can't see terribly far in front of you, you come around the curve and boom, traffic is stopped. I have been able to get to 70 mph on this road but it's not the norm and most times it's only for short stretches.

[thunderkat59]

What constantly amazes me is that some of West Virginias interstates are some of the best in the East. So much better than PA, there is no comparison. Every time I visit PA (often), "improvement" projects, even the Blue Route, are outdated within a few years at the most. To pay taxes there and and constantly see PA's inability to root out the waste and corruption at any level is very maddening and disappointing