Senate votes to bump up speed limit on I-35E

The Minnesota state Senate voted Monday to raise the speed limit on Interstate 35E in St. Paul from 45 to 55 miles per hour.

Republicans said it would not adversely affect the neighborhood around the freeway and would help traffic get through the area. But the speed limit is one of the provisions in a court settlement that allowed the fiercely fought freeway to be built. Trucks are also banned on the roadway.

St. Paul activist Chuck Repke said he's one of the few surviving parties to the lawsuit, and that the speed isn't subject to change by lawmakers.

"The state of Minnesota and those residents who lived in the area, we had to agree that that was a fair settlement, and the state agreed to it," Repke said.

The measure to raise the speed limit was an amendment to the state transportation bill and was offered by Sen. David Senjem, R-Rochester. The bill itself hasn't become law.