Five miles an hour change in speed irks commissioner

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Newly elected Moody County Commissioner John Schiefelbein is urging the county to change the speed limit on Old Highway 77 from 60 miles an hour back to 55.
Schiefelbein said he wants to return a 15-mile section north of South Dakota Highway 34 to the Brookings County line back to 55 because the county should not have increased the limit, the speed limit should be consistent with other sections that connect to the road, and he fears the county could get sued if there is an accident.
“I think we better drop it down to where it belongs. That’s a poor road anyway,” he said.

The limit was raised to 60 miles an hour in 2011.
Schiefelbein said it is illegal to have the limit at 60 based on laws from years ago.
But State’s Attorney Paul Lewis said the law has changed, and it is not illegal for the county to post the road at 60 miles an hour. The county has the explicit statutory authority to do so.
“You don’t have to drop it down to 55,” he said. “You’re not illegal.”