80 mph speed limit gets okay

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; May 25, 2006

AUSTIN – Starting tomorrow, rural areas of Texas will see higher speed limits on portions of Interstate 10 and Interstate 20.

New rules allowing for a maximum speed limit of 80 mph in rural, less populated areas were approved today [May 25] by the Texas Transportation Commission during its monthly meeting.

The rules implement the 79^th Legislature’s House Bill 2257, which allows 5-mph speed limit increases on interstate highways in counties with populations of less than 15 persons per square mile. New speed limit signs are being unveiled in time for Memorial Day weekend travel.

Before the increase in the speed limit was considered, traffic and engineering studies were conducted by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to ensure that a higher speed limit was safe and reasonable on the roadways

Factors evaluated during speed limit engineering studies included prevailing speeds –logged between 77-and-79 miles per hour for 85 percent of drivers, roadway width, crash history, horizontal or vertical curves, and shoulder conditions.

The 80-mph speed limit does not apply to commercial trucks, truck tractors, trailers and semitrailers. The truck speed limit will remain at 70 miles per hour. But the new limit does apply to pickup trucks and pickup trucks pulling a trailer. The nighttime speed limit will remain 65 mph.

House Bill 2257 allows TxDOT to establish a speed limit of 80 mph in the daytime on I-10 or I-20 in Crockett, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kerr, Kimble, Pecos, Reeves, Sutton, or Ward County.

Signs will be unveiled tomorrow morning for the affected stretches of Interstate 10 –from Kerr County to the El Paso County line– and Interstate 20 from west of Pyote to the intersection with Interstate 10 east of Kent, according to an official with the Texas Department of Transportation in Odessa.

"Employees with our maintenance section crews in Iraan, Fort Stockton, Balmorhea, Monahans and Pecos will start uncovering 80 mile per hour speed limit signs on the westbound lanes at eight o’clock in morning," said Glen W. Larum, the public information officer for the Odessa District.

"Then, we will turn around and start uncovering the signs in the eastbound lanes," added Larum.

For more information: contact Glen W. Larum, Texas Department of Transportation, at (432) 498-4746.