Link to article here.
The way this report was compiled has some flaws…they selected a congested roadway in major U.S. cities and then ranked the entire city based on its single most congested corridor. But it is useful in illustrating the persistent troubles with I-35 through Austin. The SH 130 tollway was built to supposedly relieve I-35 traffic and to get trucks off I-35. It’s a total flop!
We’re all still sitting in gridlock on I-35. Why? Because few can afford to use the tollway. The SH 130 toll road is so empty during rush hour a distressed plane used it as a runway! SH 130 is heavily subsidized with heaps of taxpayer money by those who don’t even drive on it. If they really want to relieve I-35 traffic, make SH 130 a FREE road that truckers and motorists alike can afford to take, and we would likely see appreciable relief on I-35. Tolling alternative roadways is a BIG LOSER in actually solving traffic congestion woes! They amount to roads for the wealthy, not the general public, yet it’s still using the taxpayers’ dime.
Austin ranked 4th worst traffic in U.S.
Austin Business Journal
The traffic research companies based the rankings on peak road travel time compared with during free-flow hours, and the report identified roadways with the longest hours of bottleneck congestion.
The report found on average I-35 drivers encounter 460 hours of bottleneck traffic a week. The worst congestion heads northbound for about a mile near Riverside Drive and at its slowest hits about 16 mph.
Houston’s Loop 610 was ranked 12th worst traffic with an average 189 hours of congestion a week and Loop 820 in Dallas clocked in 172 hours and was listed 15th. San Antonio came in much lower on the list with just 71 hours of traffic a week on Loop 410.
The Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles topped the list, followed by the Lunalilo Freeway of Honolulu. The Capital Beltway came in third and U.S. 101 in San Francisco fell behind Austin. Seattle; Bridgeport, Conn; Chicago, Ill.; and Miami also made the top 10 list.
The complete list of 75 cities is available here.