List topping is often a very good thing, but here’s one list we don’t want any part of. It’s the recently released rankings of the nation’s worst traffic trouble spots compiled by the American Highway Users Alliance. Essentially, this group looks at congested areas, tallies the vehicle count, and totals the hours of delays. Unfortunately, Texas has 22 traffic bottlenecks which made the cut—meaning they’re responsible for at least 700,000 hours of delays per year.
Not surprisingly, the worst delays are concentrated in the largest metro areas. Of Texas’ 22 problem areas, nine are in the Metroplex, seven are in Houston, three are in San Antonio, two are in Austin, and one is in El Paso. The worst in Texas is the I-610 at I-10 interchange in Houston, which ranks as second in terms of hours of delays of all bottlenecks across the country. About 295,000 vehicles pass through this area every day, and it causes over 25.2 million hours of delays each year.
Traffic is more than an inconvenience. Millions of hours are lost every year sitting at intersections and creeping along interstates. This time could be better used, whether for work or play. Imagine the productivity increases we would see if traffic jams were a thing of the past. And there’s no doubt that we’d all like to reclaim time to spend as we wish, rather than being held captive in our cars.
Those sitting in traffic also include vehicles delivering supplies to all types of companies. The resulting time delays and cost increases that ripple throughout the economy are quite significant. In some of my prior work, I have found that the annual rate of return to highway investments averages more than 30%. At super-crowded nodes, it is much higher.
There are other benefits of reducing delays. In the first place, it would improve safety. Unexpected slowdowns and difficulties entering and exiting roadways lead to a substantial number of accidents. The environment also benefits with improvements in traffic flow. Vehicles that are moving slowly or idling continue to emit pollutants, and the millions of hours of additional time slowdowns cost lead to greater pollution levels. Given that Texas has several cities struggling to meet Clean Air Act standards and otherwise enhance environmental quality, this is an important issue.
Totally alleviating traffic is both impractical and impossible. In fact, it doesn’t even make sense to do so because the excess capacity during non-peak hours would be enormous. The costs would be so extreme that they would far outweigh the benefits. Even so, it’s clear that the current congestion is costing us a fortune in wasted time and wasted fuel.
The impact of construction projects (once they’re completed) can be substantial. One interchange in Houston serves as an example. In 1999, the US-59 (Southwest Freeway) and I-610 Loop interchange was one of the worst in the country. Thanks to subsequent construction, delays in the area have dropped from 22.1 million hours to 2.9 million hours despite significant growth in the number of vehicles through the interchange.
I have long argued that infrastructure investments can be crucial to the economic vitality of an area. Any intersection or stretch of roadway that causes millions of hours in delays is hampering growth in and around the area. If we can’t move people and cargo where we need to when we need to, we’re harming economic efficiency. Well-conceived plans to alleviate these conditions are certainly worth our support and our tax dollars.