Motorists who travel Interstate 79 and Interstate 80 in Butler County will reach their destinations a little sooner, thanks to a bump in the speed limit.

The state Department of Transportation on Monday announced that speed limits on nearly 1,000 miles of Pennsylvania highway will increase to 70 mph, including those stretches of I-79 and I-80.

The portion of I-79 that will affect Butler County motorists is from I-90 in Erie County, 97 miles south to just north of the Route 228 interchange in Cranberry Township, a PennDOT news release said.

The speed limit increases for I-80 from the Ohio state border 190 miles east to Clinton County.

Workers will soon be posting the new 70 mph signs.

Transportation Secretary Leslie Richards said agency officials studied factors such as speed, traffic data and the physical characteristics of the highways before deciding on safe areas to raise the speed limit.

Areas that did not qualify for the increase had crash histories, work zones, heavy or weaving traffic or other characteristics that made a higher limit less safe, officials said.

PennDOT in 2014 increased the speed limit to 70 mph for 200 miles of highway in the state, the release said.

Several sections of the Turnpike that are not already posted at 70 mph will be, meaning 396 miles of the Turnpike will get the new speed limit. Once the new speed limit signs are in place, 90 percent of the Turnpike will be 70 mph.

Another highway in Western Pennsylvania where the speed limit will be increased to 70 mph is I-79 from Interstate 70 in Washington County 33 miles south to the West Virginia border.