You Can't Drive 55 on 161 — Try 70

Fifty-five? Sixty? Seventy-five?

Those numbers weren't shouted out during an auction -- they were drivers' guesses of the speed limit on the newest stretch of Highway 161.

Highway 161 between Interstate 30 and State Highway 183 in Grand Prairie and Irving doesn't have any posted speed limit signs, leaving drivers to guess.

"You can travel at 70 mph during the day or 65 miles per hour at night if there are no posted speed limit signs, as there are here at this time," said Grand Prairie Police Officer Wes Bement.

A North Texas Tollway Authority spokesperson said signs will be installed after the Texas Department of Transportation performs a speed survey.

That will take months, meaning signs won't show up until at least 2010.

But don't expect to use the "there's no speed limit sign" excuse with cops. Grand Prairie patrol officers said 70 miles per hour during the day and 65 miles per hour at night are the default limits set by the state.

"We will definitely be out here monitoring traffic and the speed limit to keep it safe," Bement said.

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