MANKATO — The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) announced Thursday that it is increasing the speed limit from 55 to 60 miles per hour on parts of a number of state highways.

The increases are the result of a 2014 legislative mandate for MnDOT to study posted speed limits on all two-lane state highways and make recommendations for possible speed limit increases.

Sections of highway that will have speed limits increased from 55 to 60 mph when posted with black and white signs are:

• Highway 4 from I-90 (Sherburn) to Sleepy Eye.

• Highway 4 from New Ulm to Highway 71 (Sanborn Corner).

• Highway 15 from the Iowa border to Winthrop.

• Highway 19 from Fairfax to Gaylord.

• Highway 19 from east of New Prague to Highway 13.

• Highway 22 from the Iowa border to Mankato.

• Highway 59 from the Iowa border to Highway 60.

• Highway 62 from Fulda to Windom.

• Highway 109 from Wells to Alden.

The speed limit on Highway 22/111 from Nicollet to Highway 212 will remain at 55 mph until after 2020 construction when pavement will be added to the shoulders with a rumble strip.

The speed limit is effective when the new signs are posted.

“The speed study gave MnDOT the opportunity to review speed limits on 55 mph state highways in our area and identify those that can support a higher speed limit without compromising safety,” said MnDOT Traffic Engineer Scott Thompson.

The increases are based on traffic and engineering investigations on each highway that considered past crash history, highway physical attributes including shoulder widths and access points, and what speed drivers are currently driving. In some cases, studies resulted in speed limits remaining the same.

The most common speed limits are 10 mph in alleys, 30 mph on urban streets, 55 mph on other roads, 65 on expressways and urban interstate highways and 70 mph on rural interstate highways.

Minnesota has about 7,000 miles of two-lane roads studied from 2014 to 2019. A 2017 report on speed limit evaluation can be found at www.mndot/gov/speed/

For more information, visit www.mndot.gov

Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.