Texas State Highway 130

State Highway 130 marker State Highway 130 marker
State Highway 130
Pickle Parkway
Map
SH 130 highlighted in red
Route information
Length130.6 mi[1] (210.2 km)
Existed1985[1]–present
Major junctions
South end I-35 / I-410 in San Antonio
Major intersections
North end I-35 in Georgetown
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
Highway system
SH 129 SH 131

State Highway 130 (SH 130), also known as the Pickle Parkway, is a freeway and toll road in the U.S. state of Texas. It runs parallel to Interstate 35 (I-35) in San Antonio along I-410 and I-10 to east of Seguin, then north as a toll road from there to I-35 north of Georgetown.[1] SH 130 runs in a 91-mile (146 km) corridor east and south of Austin. The route parallels I-35 and is intended to relieve the Interstate's traffic volume through the San Antonio–Austin corridor by serving as an alternate route.

The highway was developed in response to the tremendous surge in truck traffic on the I-35 corridor brought on by the North American Free Trade Agreement during the late 1990s, especially truck traffic originating from Laredo, where the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reported 150 trucks entering the United States every hour. A proponent of the highway's development, Capital Area Transportation Coalition, said that congestion along the I-35 corridor is costing businesses more than $194 million a year in higher operating costs and lost productivity.

The 41-mile (66 km) section of the toll road between SH 45 and I-10 has a posted speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h), the highest posted speed limit in the Americas. As of December 2014, the only speed limits in the world higher than this are the 140 km/h (87 mph) limits of Poland and Bulgaria,[2] and the United Arab Emirates’ 160 km/h (100 mph) limit, as well as Germany and the Isle of Man, which have roads without any posted maximum limit.[3][4]

  1. ^ a b c Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 130". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
  2. ^ "85 mph speed limit in Texas a potential killer?". CBS News. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  3. ^ "Current speed limit policies - Mobility and transport - European Commission". Mobility and transport. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  4. ^ "How Do You Police a Land with No Speed Limits?". Retrieved March 19, 2017.