HOUSTON (June 7, 2012)—The Texas Department of Transportation is considering the first 85-mile-per-hour speed limit in the state on a 41-mile stretch of a toll road set to open between Austin and San Antonio.
TxDOT spokesman Mark Cross said Thursday the agency is running tests before the highway's opening.
Cross said part of the testing includes checking what speed most drivers are traveling on existing parts of state Highway 130, looking at the road's topography and checking the access points to ensure an 85 mph limit would be safe.
In 2011, the Texas Legislature upped the maximum speed limit from 80 mph to 85, but only for future highways.
Right now, only sparsely populated areas of West Texas have highways with 80 mile per hour speed limits.
