Motorists who tend to drive faster than what’s legally allowed on I-575 will soon have a little more wiggle room, as the Georgia Department of Transportation will raise the posted speed limit from 65 to 70 mph.
The portion of the interstate that will see the increase is from its split from I-75 in Cobb through the Canton city limits in Cherokee County. The change will match the 70 mph speed limit on I-575 from Canton north to the Cherokee-Pickens county line.
Georgia DOT spokesman Mohamed Arafa said a law passed in 2017 allows for the state to consider changes to certain highways. House Bill 774 allows federal interstate system roadways and other physically divided highways with "full control of access" and outside urban areas of 50,000 or more people to have their speed limits raised to 70 mph.
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The state DOT conducted a speed study and “found that an increase in the speed limit would be appropriate” on I-575, Arafa said. I-575 has four regular travel lanes — two northbound and two southbound — and one reversible Northwest Corridor express lane in the center median. That express lane runs from I-75 to Sixes Road in Holly Springs.
Arafa said the agency will begin changing signs to reflect the new speed limit, and all new signs should be in place within a couple of months.
This isn’t the first increase in posted speed limits on interstates and state highways Georgia DOT has implemented. Spokeswoman Natalie Dale said the department raised the speed limit to 70 on I-20 outside I-285 from Rockdale County to the South Carolina border and from Riverside Parkway to the Alabama state line; I-85 outside the perimeter from the DeKalb County line to Old Peachtree Road and the Coweta County line to Clayton County; I-75 outside the perimeter from the Clayton County line to the Spalding County line; I-985 from I-85 to the Hall County line; and I-675 from I-75 to the Clayton County line.
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