Fastest US highway opens in Texas

HOUSTON - The fastest highway in the United State opened Wednesday in the US state of Texas, US media reported.

The 41-mile (about 65.6 kilometers) section of highway between Austin and San Antonio, which opened to motorists Wednesday, has a speed limit of 85 miles (about 136 kilometers) per hour, the highest posted speed limit in the country.

The toll road is intended to help alleviate the increasingly crowded Interstate 35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio, which are two of the state's largest metropolitan areas, according to reports.

Texas already has 80 miles per hour (128 kilometers per hour) limits on some highways, 75 miles per hour (120 kilometers per hour) on others.

In 2011, the Texas Legislature upped the maximum speed limit from 80 mph to 85 mph, but only for future highways, to relieve congestion on state roads.

Currently, only sparsely populated areas of West Texas have roads with 80 mph speed limits. Speed limits have been on the rise since the country's maximum of 55 mph (88 kilometers per hour) was repealed in 1996.