Representatives OK speed limit bill

State representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would allow maximum speeds of 70 mph on interstates in urban areas with populations that exceed 50,000.

House Bill 774 was approved by a vote of 157-7. No interstate speed limits will be automatically raised if the bill passes the Senate and is signed into law by Gov. Nathan Deal, said Joshua Waller, the director of government and legislative relations for the Georgia Department of Transportation. The proposed law just gives GDOT the option of raising them in areas where doing so could improve traffic flow.

Under current Georgia law, interstates in urban areas are capped at 65 mph; nonurban areas have a maximum speed limit of 70 mph.