Bill that would speed up 83 voted down
BY ALYSSA MEIER
Editor
A bill that would have made U.S. Highway 83 a 75 mile per hour road failed on Thursday with only six supporting votes.
House Bill 1184, which was introduced by Rep. Ben Koppelman of West Fargo, would have increased speed limits on highways and interstates by 5 miles per hour. Speed limits on paved, two-lane highways would have gone from 65 to 70 and from 75 to 80 on interstates. Divided, multi-lane highways like Highway 83 would have seen a change from 70 to 75 miles per hour.
But speed limits seem to be remaining steady after the bill received support from only six of the 90 voting members present in the House Feb. 2. District 8 representative Jeff Delzer said he was relieved to see the bill fail.
“Speed limits are fast enough the way they are,” Delzer said. “While it is certainly nice to travel fast, the fact is that speed does mean you have less time for reactions and likely a bigger problem if something goes wrong.”
Delzer, one of the three representatives of McLean County’s district, said the bill would have been a risk to safety on an already dangerous highway. He said he didn’t see any changes to Highway 83’s speed limit any time soon, and expected other bills aimed at increasing speeds to struggle.
“I do not see any changes coming out of the house for the first half and expect the 80 on the interstate bill over in the senate may have a hard time in the house as well,” Delzer said.
