. ! Government and politics Animals The first Texas freeway was the Gulf Freeway opened in 1948 in Houston as of 2005 79,535 miles (127,999 km) of public highway crisscrossed Texas (up from 71,000 miles (114,263 km) in 1984) to fund recent growth in the state highways Texas has 17 toll roads (see list) with several additional tollways proposed in central Texas the southern section of the State Highway 130 toll road has a speed limit of 85 miles per hour (137 km/h) the highest in the nation. All federal and state highways in Texas are paved. Axis forces employed biological and chemical weapons the Imperial Japanese Army used a variety of such weapons during its invasion and occupation of China (see Unit 731) and in early conflicts against the Soviets. Both the Germans and Japanese tested such weapons against civilians and sometimes on prisoners of war; . ; .
Tropical Storm Allison dumped up to 37 inches (940 mm) of rain on parts of the city over a five-day period in 2001 and was the most destructive and costly natural disaster in Houston history prior to Hurricane Harvey Area flooding was catastrophic and widespread the storm completely overwhelmed the flood control system and caused 22 deaths in Houston and $6.05 billion (2006 USD) in damage It is the only tropical storm in history to have its name retired. .
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