Texas Rolls Out Variable Speed Limits to Improve Safety on High-Risk Highways
Key Takeaways
- Electronic variable speed limit signs are now active on I-35 in Fort Worth and U.S. 54 in El Paso, with broader rollout planned.
- Speeds can be temporarily lowered by up to 10 mph during weather events, construction, congestion, or hazardous conditions without lengthy state approval.
- The program follows lessons learned from the deadly 2021 I-35 pileup, backed by more than a decade of research and pilot testing by TxDOT and Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is implementing variable speed limits across the state, with electronic speed limit signs now rolling out along Interstate 35 in Fort Worth and U.S. Route 54 in El Paso, according to San Antonio Express-News. The system will allow TxDOT to temporarily reduce speed limits during poor weather, construction, heavy traffic or other hazardous driving conditions.
The Legislature authorized TxDOT to use variable speed limits in a 2023 law introduced after a 133-vehicle pileup on I-35 in 2021 during a winter ice storm, according to Fox 4 News. The National Transportation Safety Board later determined that slower travel speeds could have helped prevent crashes or reduce their severity, San Antiono Express-News reported. The incident resulted in six deaths and dozens of injuries.
Under the new law, TxDOT can lower posted speeds by up to 10 miles per hour when needed and no longer requires approval from the Texas Transportation Commission, eliminating the significant delays previously involved, according to San Antonio Express-News.
Before installing the new signs, transportation officials tested TxDOT’s roadway cameras to ensure accuracy in identifying events that warrant reduced speeds and evaluated priority installation locations, Fox 4 News reported.
The program traces back to 2013, when TxDOT launched a pilot study to evaluate impacts of temporary speed reductions. Electronic signs were deployed in Temple, San Antonio and Eastland County, with performance data analyzed by Texas A&M Transportation Institute, according to Fox 4 News.
According to San Antonio Express-News, electronic road signs must be installed between 500 and 1,000 feet ahead of areas where the temporary speed reductions will be activated.
Sources: Fox 4 News, San Antonio Express-News