Texas now has fastest road in the US

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**Frazzled**

I've been on this road just last month.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/New-Texas-road-to-have-nation-s-fastest-speed-3845096.php

New Texas road to have nation's fastest speed limit
Thursday, September 6, 2012 | Updated: Thursday, September 6, 2012 2:37pm Comments 1 E-mail Print Page 1 of 1

A truck barrels past a newly posted 80 mph speed limit sign just west of Monahans in West Texas, Wednesday, May 31, 2006. Cars on two stretches of rural Texas highways can now legally travel 80 mph, (130kph) the highest speed limit in the country. Truck speed limits remained at 70 mph. (AP Photo/Betsy Blaney)
1 of 1A truck barrels past a newly posted 80 mph speed limit sign just west of Monahans in West Texas, Wednesday, May 31, 2006. Cars on two stretches of rural Texas highways can now legally travel 80 mph, (130kph) the highest speed limit in the country. Truck speed limits remained at 70 mph. (AP Photo/Betsy Blaney)Photo By BETSY BLANEY Feared by some, highly anticipated by others, a stretch of Texas tollroad will open soon with the highest speed limit in the country - 85 mph.

The Texas Transportation Commission set the new speed limit Aug. 30 for a 41-mile stretch of Texas 130 between the Austin suburb of Mustang Ridge and Interstate 10 at Seguin.

Scheduled for completion by Nov. 11, the segment is being built by State Highway 130 Concession Co., LLP, a private consortium comprised of the Spanish tollroad firm Cintra and U.S. based Zachry.

Consortium spokesman Chris Lippincott said the new 41-mile section may open early.

"We'll certainly meet the deadline, and we think we'll beat it," he said.

The consortium designed, built and paid for the 41-mile piece of road known as Segments 5 and 6 and will operate and maintain that stretch for the next 50 years, Lippincott said.

In a prepared statement, the company said, "The Texas Department of Transportation has determined that SH 130 Segments 5 and 6 may be safely traveled at 85 miles per hour. We are committed to operating a safe, reliable highway for our customers. On any road, drivers hold the key to safety based on traffic, travel conditions and the capabilities of their own vehicles."

The new speed limit means a higher payment from the consortium to TxDot. If the commission had set the speed limit at 80 mph, the private firm would have had to pay TxDot $67 million. Because the limit was set at 85 mph, the firm will pay the state $100 million, said TxDOT spokesman Mark Cross.

Only one other state, Utah, now allows motorists to drive 80 mph, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Some experts say the new higher speed limit is likely to result in more traffic-related deaths.

"Research clearly demonstrates the direct connection between higher speed limits and more fatalities," Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington, Va., said in an earlier interview. "When speed limits go up, deaths on those roads go up. When speed limits go down, deaths on those roads go down."

In separate bills last year, the Texas Legislature approved changing the speed limit to 75 mph on certain approved roads and up to 80 mph or 85 mph on other roads designed to accommodate higher speeds, according to TxDot.

Texas now has about 3,200 miles of roadway with a 75-mph speed limit, representing about 4 percent of the state's 80,000 highway miles, according to TxDot.

The state's 575 miles of roads with an 80-mph speed limit account for less than 1 percent of Texas roadways, the agency said.

On other Texas highways, the speed limit is 70 mph, unless otherwise posted.

carol.christian@chron.com

twitter.com/christiancarol
.

**Jihadin**

I've a feeling that road needs to be redone Autobahn style

**Frazzled**

Jihadin wrote:
I've a feeling that road needs to be redone Autobahn style

Oh it is wide, smooth, and clear with gentle curves. If I had a crotch rocket, I could blow 120 without breaking a sweat all day long.

**AustonT**

You shall never best the Montanabahn! We're it not for the contant Interstate construction that demands federal money we could return to such heady days.

**MrMerlin**

its indeed nice to have the Autobahn here in germany lol! We can legally go 200+km/m (130 mp/h)

**KingCracker**

Thats pretty cool. So that means everyone drives at least 90 on there now yes?

**kronk**

gak, I drove 90 this morning in my Prius on Beltway 8...

I'm never out that way, but there are a gak-ton of wild deer in West Texas. I'd be mindful at night.

**azazel the cat**

I heard about this on the radio. The DJs were laughing because that's how fast the standard flow of traffic is in certain parts of Vancouver.

**Frazzled**

kronk wrote:
gak, I drove 90 this morning in my Prius on Beltway 8...

I'm never out that way, but there are a gak-ton of wild deer in West Texas. I'd be mindful at night.

Well i wouldn't say Austin is West texas, but yea I wouldn't drive that speed at night.

And yea if the limit is 85 that means Redneck Bob is boogeying his CHevy Ford 350 at a cool 95.

**Shadowseer_Kim**

last I checked. Montana actually has no speed limit on the major highways. maybe the complete lack of a limit was why it was not mentioned in the story.

**Grey Templar**

Yeah, they should have said "Fastest Posted Speed Limit"

At the very least its a straight stretch of road.

**whembly**

Grey Templar wrote:
Yeah, they should have said "Fastest Posted Speed Limit"

At the very least its a straight stretch of road.

And Texas needs it...

Driving from Missouri to San Antonio...jeez thats a long ass drive

.

**hotsauceman1**

I think I can already hear the drunken teenage crashes all the way from here.

**AustonT**

Shadowseer_Kim wrote:
last I checked. Montana actually has no speed limit on the major highways. maybe the complete lack of a limit was why it was not mentioned in the story.

That ended in may of 98 or 99...99 if memory serves. It only lasted from Dec 95 to whatever the end date actually was. Beleive it or not it wasn't quite the wild wild west of driving. The Reasonable and Prudent law actually gave troopers wide leeway to write tickets.

**Khornholio**

azazel the cat wrote:
I heard about this on the radio. The DJs were laughing because that's how fast the standard flow of traffic is in certain parts of Vancouver.

Alberta was the same when I was there last. The Calgary - Edmonton Autobahn would have you going 145km/h in the slow lane. The road out to Banff had traffic that was even faster.
A very large difference to here where everyone seems to go a whopping 30km/h everywhere, hammer their breaks, never signal, blow stop signs, run redlights, park in the middle of the street even if there is a huge and empty parking lot less than 30cm away, never wear seatbelts, etc.

**Bran Dawri**

MrMerlin wrote:
its indeed nice to have the Autobahn here in germany lol! We can legally go 200+km/m (130 mp/h)

Isn't there some clause that prevents you from getting insurance paid if you have an accident while going faster than (off the top of my head) 150KpH?

**Jihadin**

From what I understand if there was an accident they lose their license for quite awhile

**MrMerlin**

I wasn't sure about is myself, so I checked it on wikipedia

Spoiler:

Some limits were imposed to reduce pollution and noise. Limits can also be temporarily put into place through dynamic traffic guidance systems that display the according traffic signs. On all Autobahns the advisory speed limit is 130 km/h, referred to in German as the Richtgeschwindigkeit; this speed is now binding and being involved in an accident driving at higher speeds can lead to the driver being deemed at least partially responsible due to "increased operating danger" (Erhöhte Betriebsgefahr). Studies showed that the average speed on autobahns without speed limits is about 140 km/h.[14] On average, on more than an eighth of the total length of the German autobahn network has no speed limit at all, about one third has a permanent limit, and the remaining parts have a temporary limit for different reasons.

In places without a general limit, there are mostly also no restrictions on overtaking (apart from the general prohibition of overtaking from the right side). Therefore, those traveling at high speeds may regularly encounter trucks running side-by-side at about just 90 km/h.[citation needed] In theory, trucks are not allowed to overtake others unless they drive 20 km/h faster than whomever they are overtaking, but truck drivers are generally under pressure to arrive in time; therefore, such laws are rarely enforced for economic and political reasons, especially since a lot of trucks are from other countries.[citation needed] The right lane of an autobahn is often crowded with trucks. In some zones with only two lanes in both directions and no speed limit, but a special overtaking restriction for trucks and/or cars pulling trailers. Another German restriction says that trucks are usually not allowed to drive before 22:00 on Sundays and national holidays, except for trucks carrying perishable goods and certain other exceptions such as military vehicles.

Some modern cars with a very powerful engine can reach speeds of well over 300 km/h (190 mph). Most large car manufacturers, especially the German ones, follow a gentlemen's agreement by electronically limiting the top speed of their cars – with the exception of some top of the range models or engines – to 250 km/h (155 mph) for safety reasons (such as inexperienced drivers or risk of tire failure, especially when underinflated). Yet, these limiters can be deactivated, so speeds up to 300 km/h (190 mph) might arise on the German autobahn. But due to other traffic, such speeds are mostly not attainable. Most unlimited sections of the autobahn are located outside urban and densely populated areas. The largest part of this route has no speed limit.

**Frazzled**

hotsauceman1 wrote:
I think I can already hear the drunken teenage crashes all the way from here.

Well its a tollway, so that cuts out most of that. Lots of tolls too.

**SagesStone**

Cars on two stretches of rural Texas highways can now legally travel 80 mph, (130kph) the highest speed limit in the country.

It's not fast enough.

**BolingbrokeIV**

Seriously if speed limits bother you, go live here...

You only gain 10 minutes on a 100 mile trip going 80 instead of seventy. What's the point?

**thatdudefilthy**

Its cause no one can get out of Texas fast enough. Haha.
Seriously though isn't 85 already the de facto speed limit in most places? Certainly most places outside the south here in the states.

**Frazzled**

thatdudefilthy wrote:
Its cause no one can get out of Texas fast enough. Haha.
Seriously though isn't 85 already the de facto speed limit in most places? Certainly most places outside the south here in the states.

No we need high speed limits because all the California refugees can't get here fast enough.

**VermGho5t**

Shadowseer_Kim wrote:
last I checked. Montana actually has no speed limit on the major highways. maybe the complete lack of a limit was why it was not mentioned in the story.

This is incorrect. I went fly fishing in Montana with my dad just a little over a year ago and there were speed limit signs on the major and minor highways, all over the place. This was all along 90E/W through Butte, up to Ennis, and West Yellowstone.

**Captain Fantastic**

That sounds reasonable. There should be some roads in texas that have literally no speed limit, given the vast distances of open space required to travel to get around.

Same with a good number of other states. It might not be safe though. They could be toll roads though?

**Jihadin**

Toll booths...cattle crossing...jackalope crossing...illegal immigrant crossing.....drunk texan crossing...I can see it being really dangerous now..

**CT GAMER**

Anything that helps me get through Texas faster can't be a bad thing..

**DIDM**

I can see this leading to one thing

more deaths by young people

kids these days SUCK at driving. they should be forced to take the test while texting and putting on makeup at the same time, cause feth, that is how they drive

**Aerethan**

Most places here in CA have 65 as the highway speed. In my neck of the woods, the average speed is 80, with highway patrol cars passing people at about 85-90. No one really gets pulled over unless they are doing 90+.

I absolutely hate going inland from here. Everyone there drives 65 like the po po are out to get them. It absolutely kills me, and if the sun is still up I make my wife drive so I don't have to deal with it. At night it is usually sparse enough for me to do 80 and just pass people.

The fastest I've ever driven was 130mph in a Dodge Charger SRT-8. That was fun.

Sadly California has too many drivers on the freeways to facilitate audobahn like speeds.

**kronk**

Frazzled wrote:
kronk wrote:
gak, I drove 90 this morning in my Prius on Beltway 8...

I'm never out that way, but there are a gak-ton of wild deer in West Texas. I'd be mindful at night.

Well i wouldn't say Austin is West texas, but yea I wouldn't drive that speed at night.

Ah, but to me, anything west of Katy is West Texas...