<Li> Even organizations supporting the NMSL, such as the American Automobile Association (AAA) provided lists of locations where the limit was strictly enforced . </Li> <Li> On June 1, 1986, Nevada challenged the NMSL by posting a 70 mph (115 km / h) limit on 3 miles (5 km) of Interstate 80 . The Nevada statute authorizing this speed limit included language that invalidated itself if the federal government suspended transportation funding . Indeed, the Federal Highway Administration immediately withheld highway funding, which automatically invalidated the statute by its own terms . </Li> <P> In the April 2, 1987, Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act, Congress permitted states to raise speed limits to 65 mph (105 km / h) on rural Interstate highways . In a bill that passed in mid-December 1987, Congress allowed certain non-Interstate rural roads built to Interstate standards to have the higher speed limits . As of December 29, 1987, the states of California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma had applied for and been accepted into this program . The program was originally slated to last four years . </P> <P> These reforms were vehemently opposed by highway safety advocates, including the National Safety Council, Public Citizen, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, all ardent, long - time supporters of 55 mph (90 km / h). </P>

When did the speed limit change to 65