Austin's SH 71 toll lanes establish maximum speed limit

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Drivers on the State Hwy. 71 toll road will need to remember to keep their foot off the gas after transit leaders voted Wednesday to set the maximum speed limit for those toll lanes.

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Board of Directors voted Wednesday to establish the maximum speed limit to 65 miles per hour. Prior to Wednesday's vote, CTRMA documents said the current policy code didn't have a specific maximum speed limit established on the toll road.

However, a speed zone study conducted on the toll lanes reaffirmed the existing posted speed limit, listed at 65 miles per hour.

Back in 2022, CTRMA's board reviewed 2020 crash rates on its managed roadways. At that time, officials said the 2020 crash rate for the SH 71 toll lanes amounted to 25 per 100 million miles traveled, lower than the state's 2020 average crash rate of 169 per 100 million miles traveled.