Texas High-Speed Toll Road Traffic Lower Than Expected

The Texas toll road with the country’s fastest speed limit, 85 mph, has drawn half as many drivers as expected in its first few months, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

The numbers are low enough on the toll road, Texas 130, to threaten the credit rating of the private company that built the road, according to the paper.

Moody's Investor Service announced it is investigating a possible downgrade and said that although the operating history of the toll road is limited, the shortfall was significant enough that the credit rating warrants a review, the paper said.

Carriers have said they rarely used the new toll road, which opened in October, because it is expensive and has little to offer, Transport Topics previously reported.

The toll road extension, which runs between Austin and Seguin, generated $2.6 million in toll revenue in the first six weeks it was open, with almost 203,000 vehicles traveling on some portion of the road, the paper reported.

The company that built the road, SH 130 Concession Co., spent $1.4 billion on the toll road and has a 50-year lease to operate and maintain the road, the San Antonio paper reported.

Truckers pulling one trailer are charged $24.58 to travel the 41-mile stretch between Austin and Seguin, if they have a Texas toll-road tag. Without the tag, they pay $28.10. With two or more trailers, the toll with tag is $30.73 and without is $34.25.