"Whenever we see a posted speed limit, we think we can go above it, we think we can go 5 or 10 mph above it and a lot of cases we can't, so the reality is you're talking about the flow of traffic being 90, 95, even a little bit more, and so if you're in a crash, you're just not going to survive, even if you wear a seatbelt." It is important to remember that through towns like San Antonio, Austin and Dallas the speed limits are not set at 85 mph we are not building a race track through the middle of town, we just want to make sure people can get safely and reliably where they need to go."Įighty-five miles an hour may be legal but is it safe? Jonathan Adkins, deputy executive director with the Governor's Highway Safety Association says he wouldn't want to be in an accident going 85. "There is a lot of wide open space in Texas which makes sense with these higher posted speed limits-the 85, 75 80 mph roads are all out in rural areas that can handle that kind of traffic. But he says, this road doesn't run through neighborhoods. The company didn't set the speed limit-the Texas Legislature did, in its last session.Įighty-five miles an hour sounds extreme – and company spokesman Chris Lippincott understands the concerns. Why 85 mph on this road? It's a toll road, built by a private company Cintra-Zachry, to Texas Department of Transportation specifications.