Texas Built An 85-MPH Road For Humans, But The Next Driver You See Might Not Be Human

by Stephen Rivers

• Texas 130 is America’s only highway with an 85 mph speed limit.
• Autonomous trucking companies are increasingly eyeing the corridor.
• Its high speeds and lighter traffic make it an attractive test route.

Americans have a reputation for treating speed limits like suggestions. Sure, that’s probably due to several factors outside of their control, but at least one stretch of road encourages them to put their foot down a little more.

That’s Texas State Highway 130, the only road in America where drivers can legally go 85 mph (137 km/h). It’s also one of the most attractive sections of road for autonomous trucking companies.

More: Speed Limits Are Outdated, And We All Know It

The obscure toll road is a 41-mile section of pavement between Austin and Seguin. The 85 mph limit showed up all the way back in 2012. Safety advocates who cite speed as the boogie man would struggle to find data proving that it’s created a problem on SH-130, though. Instead, it’s become what many autonomous vehicle companies see as a prime test bed thanks to its higher speeds and lower traffic.

According to Kavout, the SH 130 Concession Company, the entity overseeing SH 130, is working on a next-gen rest stop “designed to manage autonomous trucks with high-capacity EV charging and specialized docking requirements.” Einride, Aurora Innovation, Waymo, and others are already operating autonomous vehicles or planning to in the near future.

Autonomous Truck Permits Open

The state DMV will begin accepting applications for commercial automated vehicle authorization in May of this year. That’s key because we’re not talking about trucks that require a human driver ready to take over. We’re talking about Level 4 and Level 5 autonomy, where humans can sit back and relax.

That doesn’t necessarily mean your next drive on TX-130 will involve convoys of driverless semis blasting past at 85 mph. Most autonomous trucking companies still operate with safety drivers onboard, and fully driverless freight operations remain limited.

Still, the road’s unique speed limit gives it something no other American highway has. A chance to become the real-world laboratory for testing how autonomous trucks behave at the kind of speeds most states still consider excessive. For more than a decade, Texas 130 has been known as the fastest highway in America. Before long, it may also become the smartest. Or at least the most automated.