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Ohio legislators are considering increasing the speed limit to 70 mph on highways like Interstate 77, shown here, and other highways.

(Photo by Lynn Ischay, The Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Drivers could go faster -- up to 70 mph -- on rural stretches of highways like Interstates 71, 77 and 90 under a proposed change in state law.

An increase in the 65 mph speed limit is among a flurry of changes an Ohio Senate committee made Monday to the state's next two-year budget for transportation. The full Senate is expected to vote on the bill this week.

Another controversial change would require that 90 percent of several billion dollars to be raised by the Ohio Turnpike be spent in northern Ohio.

Gov. John Kasich made that promise with his plan to raise tolls for transportation projects. But his administration and the Ohio Department of Transportation fear that limiting by law how the money will be spent could make turnpike bonds less attractive.

State legislators have talked of pumping up the speed on Ohio interstates for years.

Right now, the Ohio Turnpike is the only interstate with a 70 mph speed limit, which was set in 2011.

Raising the limit will put Ohio in line with neighboring states, said State Sen. Tom Patton, a Republican from Strongsville and member of the Senate Transportation Committee. Fatalities on the turnpike have decreased since the change, he said.

Public-safety officials, including the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association, did not speak out against the change, Patton said.

Highway Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Ann Ralston noted that the change to 70 mph applies only to rural areas, not the more congested stretches of interstate through large cities.

The speed change would be accompanied by a detailed, two-year study of crashes to gauge the impact of increased speed, Ralston said.

AAA Ohio Motorists Association is not taking a formal position but does have concerns, said spokesman Brian Newbacher.

"We just hope they are careful in monitoring crashes before and after (the speed limit change), if they do pass this," Newbacher said.

Higher speeds will be a boon for truck deliveries and commerce, according to Patton.

A list kept by The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that about two-thirds of states have speed limits of 70 mph or higher on rural interstates.

The change in law would also allow speeds to increase to 65 mph from 60 mph in "outerbelt" stretches of interstate through cities of fewer than 50,000 people, Patton said. That could include I-71 from Brook Park heading south, he said.

On the Ohio Turnpike issue, state senators from northern Ohio pushed through amendments that would make law of promises from Kasich, when he pitched a plan to raise $1.5 billion in bonds for transportation projects in the next five years or so. The plan would quadruple the debt carried by the turnpike.

One amendment would require that 90 percent of the project money be spent in northern Ohio, within 75 miles of the turnpike. It also lays out general criteria for judging projects to be funded by the turnpike, including the project's proximity to the toll road and its impact on turnpike traffic and commerce.

ODOT and turnpike officials, including the toll road's bond counsel, warned senators that laws restricting how the bonds are spent could hurt their value on the bond market. And it could limit how the money is targeted for badly needed projects.

"You don't want to have your hands tied," said ODOT spokesman Steve Faulkner. "We will deliver projects to Northern Ohio that they want and need."

But Cleveland's business leaders on Monday applauded making the 90 percent commitment part of the proposed bill.

"Northern Ohioans have paid to develop this asset over the last 60 years and should receive a disproportionate share of the benefit,'' Joe Roman, president of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, said in a recent letter to lawmakers.

In another development, a provision in the bill to raise weight limits on trucks to 90,000 pounds from 80,000 pounds was stripped out. The proposal drew fire from public safety officials county engineers, who feared the heavier trucks would accelerate wear and tear on roads and pose a safety hazard.

State Sen. Lynn Wachtmann, a Republican from Napoleon, proposed the higher weight limit as a business advantage for haulers of steel and other bulk materials.

The Senate Transportation Committee is scheduled to take more testimony on the transportation bill Tuesday afternoon.