Highway in Texas may get 85 mph limit

AUSTIN , Texas (AP) - Transportation officials in Texas are testing a new 41-mile segment of highway to see whether it would be safe to post the state's first 85 mph maximum speed limit.

The Texas Department of Transportation is considering the move on a portion of State Highway 130 that would run north-south between Austin and Seguin, just east of San Antonio, spokesman Mark Cross said on Thursday. It currently has a speed limit of 80 mph.

They are looking at the road's topography, checking what speed most drivers are traveling on existing parts of the highway and ensuring the access points and cross-sections would still be safe with an 85 mph speed limit, Cross said.

If Texas decides to go this route, that segment of road would have one of the highest posted speed limits in the country.

In 2011, the Legislature upped the maximum speed limit from 80 mph to 85 mph, but only for future highways.

Most highways in Texas have speed limits of between 60 mph and 75 mph. The idea behind increasing the speed limit is to relieve some congestion on state roads.