The speed limit through a stretch of Interstate 35E in St. Paul has been 45 mph since a compromise enabling the roadway to be completed was reached almost three decades ago.

But a Burnsville legislator wants to bump it up a bit.

Republican Sen. Dan Hall has introduced legislation requiring the Minnesota transportation commissioner to set 50 mph as the speed limit. The change would take effect when new speed limits are posted or Aug. 1, whichever occurs first.

His proposal didn’t get much traction at a Senate Transportation Committee meeting Tuesday, March 13, when he acknowledged not having worked out details with the city of St. Paul and Crocus Hill neighbors who fought construction of the four-lane roadway in the 1980s.

Commercial trucks are banned from the roadway, a common route between the Capitol area and southern suburbs, under a court settlement made in 1984.

Skeptical legislators suggested Hall’s proposal, like previous attempts, would meet with resistance. This issue surfaces every few years, and so far, St. Paul legislators have managed to kill it.

Two years ago, for example, the House defeated an attempt to raise the speed limit on the stretch between West Seventh Street and Interstate 94 from 45 to 55 mph.

Supporters have long argued that most drivers exceed 45 mph on that section.

But others cite the court settlement and say the roadway wasn’t designed to handle the higher speeds.

Dennis Lien can be reached at 651-228-5588.