Posted on 09/07/2012 4:30:37 PM PDT by JoeProBono
MUSTANG RIDGE, Texas, - Before long, a stretch of Texas toll road will have the nation's highest speed limit -- 85 mph.
Motorists desiring to zip along at that speed legally will only be able to do it about 29 minutes at a time, however. That's how long it will take to traverse the 41-mile section of Texas 130 between Mustang Ridge near Austin to Seguin going 85 mph.
The speed limit approved by the Texas Transportation Commission goes into effect when the toll road is completed, which is expected to be Nov. 11, the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday.
The 85 mph limit will put Texas ahead of Utah, where motorists are allowed to speed along at a maximum of 80 mph, the newspaper said.
Safety is a concern for some.
"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., told the Chronicle. "When speed limits go up, deaths on those roads go up. When speed limits go down, deaths on those roads go down."
Chris Lippincott, a spokesman for the consortium that is building the road, said state transportation officials have determined the highway can be traveled safely at 85 mph.
"We are committed to operating a safe, reliable highway for our customers," Lippincott said. "On any road, drivers hold the key to safety based on traffic, travel conditions and the capabilities of their own vehicles."
Claiming the national speed limit record has already ignited criticism.
"As accidents pile up on on 85-mph roads, so too will insurance claims," said David Snyder of the American Insurance Association in a newspaper editorial last year. "That will lead to increased insurance costs."
How much it will cost for the privilege of driving on the road has yet to be determined.
Not always. I was a passenger (fortunately) once in Maryland and we got pulled over. The guy who was driving pointed out to the cop that other cars were passing us. The cop replied "I got you, that's all that matters."
You may try going via I-45 and US 59 to avoid I-35. If so just be sure to clear Houston by 3 pm or so to avoid the jams going outbound on 59.
It needs a few elements to make sense. It needs to travel a long distance between two major hubs, parallel to a high traffic route, and on reasonably flat ground not otherwise used.
Which pretty dramatically limits where it could be installed, and likely means that the corridor it uses would have multiple tracks for cargo, passengers, and vehicles.
On the plus side, track and train maintenance is just a fraction of what it is for regular trains and track.
As with any such system, even the Interstate Highway System, the more effort that goes into planning, often the better result.
45 is great for Houston, it works like a hose.
True that. Todays midrange (and most of yesterdays higher end) cars can handle it nicely.
59 from Houston on down to Victoria and then US 77 into the the Coprus Area isn’t bad now that they’ve completed the 59 expansions out sw of Houston. Have fun at the shoot.
Yup, Texas, also the only state where you need a permit to buy laboratory glassware, ie flasks and such.
Going from north of Dallas to Corpus Christi
The typical speed on a limited access highway posted at 65 is close to 80. Can we assume that at a posted 85, it will be close to 100?
I-35 crossing the Colorado northbound into downtown. Frost Bank, hotels, new condos. I count only (!) about 6 semis in the picture. Not the peak of rush hour from the look of it.
Taken recently, I presume.
Your stimulus money at work, feeding the union slugs.
I love the laurel highlands but its true
Oregon’s legal speed limit is 70 mph for highways, but the transportation department refuses to raise it that high. So effectively, it is 65.
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