Iowa’s new 60-mile-per-hour speed limit on rural highways and county blacktop roads takes effect July 1, and Sioux County officials are preparing motorists for the transition.
The increase applies to rural highways and county blacktop roads but does not affect gravel or dirt roads.
60 MPH Limit will be Enforced Immediately
The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office says motorists should be aware that the new speed limit takes effect on July 1, even if some roadways still have signs posted at 55 miles per hour.
Sheriff Nate Huizenga says deputies, the Iowa State Patrol, and the county engineer’s office have coordinated on the change and will begin enforcing the new limit immediately.
“The law is sixty miles an hour. So…that is the speed that law enforcement will be enforcing…even if the blacktop or highway has a fifty-five mile an hour sign for a small period of time.”
Huizenga says there may be a brief transition period while signs are being updated. Still, drivers on rural two-lane highways and county blacktops should consider the speed limit to be 60 miles per hour beginning July 1.
“It’s going to be a couple day period where it’s a little bit foggy…but if you’re on a two-lane highway and you’re out in a rural area and you’re not in a town, the speed limit is sixty.”
About 50 Signs Need to be Replaced
The Sioux County Engineer’s Office says approximately 50 speed limit signs across the county will need to be replaced to reflect the new law. Maintenance Superintendent Darrell Schuller says the county is waiting for the new signs to arrive before crews can begin the work.
“I think we have about fifty of those fifty-five-mile-an-hour speed zones we have to replace.”
Schuller also says they hope to have all the signs changed within a week of the law taking effect.
Officials say they hope the signs will arrive soon and expect the changeover to be completed within the first few days after installation begins.
The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office and Sioux County Engineer’s Office are encouraging motorists to be patient during the transition and remember that the new 60-mile-per-hour speed limit will be in effect and enforceable beginning July 1.
