In The News

Arkansas raising speed limit for trucks to 70 mph on rural interstates

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Highway Commission Wednesday voted to end split speed limits on the state’s rural-area interstate highways.

As soon as new signs are in place, both cars and trucks will have the same speed limit — 70 mph.

Since 1996, trucks have been limited to 65 mph on rural-area interstates while other vehicles could go 70 mph.

The new signs are expected to be put in place next Monday.

The commission cited traffic flow as a factor in the decision.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, in its report on the commission meeting, reported that Scott Bennett, director of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, said he saw firsthand the effect of the different speed limits on traffic flow during a trip on Interstate 40 to Memphis a few weeks ago.

"There was a couple of times that I was in the left lane behind a truck that was going about 65.1 mph and trying to pass a truck in the right lane going 65.0 mph," he told commission members.

"It took me about somewhere around 17 minutes to get around one of those trucks. It took me about 15 minutes to get around the other one.

"It is actually causing congestion out in the rural areas, especially I-40 between here and West Memphis."

However, that scenario will likely not go away since many trucks are speed limited at 65 mph or slower.

The new speed limit will impact three major trucking corridors in Arkansas — Interstate 40, Interstate 30 and Interstate 55. I-40, which runs east and west from coast-to-coast, is considered one the nation’s busiest trucking corridors.

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