Serious new congestion also has materialized on Route 50 in Prince George's County, snaring morning motorists along a stretch between Route 301 and Church Road where traffic was previously heavy but largely flowing. In offering a glimmer of good news, the study showed that adding the car-pool lanes on the Toll Road eased the congestion on the regular travel lanes, eliminating severe congestion that had plagued most of the highway in 1996. The rapid spread of congestion reflects the fact that so many of the region's roads are carrying heavy volumes of traffic. Under these conditions, it takes only a modest increase in cars to provoke a dramatic slowdown. Many highways that are still flowing freely are approaching the breaking point.
Congestion is a lot worse.
The lesson is if we don't do something, we're going to drown in all the traffic. The findings reached by photographing 300 miles of highway from aircraft and then calculating the density of cars, which reveals their speed may offer the most rigorous overview yet of the region's congestion. But, as with previous traffic studies, the COG report yielded different interpretations. Robert T. Grow, transportation director for the Greater Washington Board of Trade, said the study's conclusions underscored the need for an extensive network of new roads. It's not unexpected, because we are not addressing our transportation needs quickly enough.