Texas To Open 85 Mph Highway

Texas drivers be warned; your daily commute may become a little more intense in a couple of months.

The Texas Transportation Commission announced that they have approved the 85 mph speed limit for a new 41-mile-long road on the Texas Highway. Highway 130 runs several miles east of an already busy Interstate 35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio and the new section is set to open in November.

The average speed limit for highways in the U.S. doesn't exceed 75 mph, and there are no longer any roads in the U.S. with no speed limits as there used to be for many areas. While there are highways out west that have 80 mph speed limits, there hasn't been a state to allow anything higher than 80 mph until now.

Town leaders think that the expanded toll road will bring more development and jobs. Not everyone is thrilled about the new speed limit however, as many people aren't so sure it is safe to allow drivers to go so fast.

"The research is clear that when speed limits go up, fatalities go up," said Russ Rader, a spokesman for the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said to the Associated Press.

 Higher speed limits get drivers to their destinations quicker, but unfortunately the tradeoff could mean more crashes and highway deaths.

A 2009 report in the American Journal of Public Health showed traffic mortalities in the U.S. from 1995 to 2005, and the study determined that over 12,500 deaths were caused due to increases in speed limits on all kinds of roads.

Chris Lippincott, spokesman for SH 130 Concession Co. that is building the road, said the company is committed to operating a safe highway.

''On any road, drivers hold the key to safety based on traffic, travel conditions and the capabilities of their own vehicles,'' Lippincott said to the Associated Press.

Toll prices for the new section have not been set yet. While the higher speed limit will probably attract drivers from all over the country, people don't think it will affect the cost of tolls.