All of the size categories show more severe congestion that lasts a longer period of time and affects more of the transportation network in 1999 than in 1982. The average annual delay per person climbed from 11 hours in 1982 to 36 hours in 1999. And delay over the same period quintupled in areas with less than 1 million people. Congestion costs can be expressed in a lot of different factors, but they are all increasing. These events did not happen, and congestion increased.
Road expansions slow the growth in congestion.
By themselves, however, additional roadways do not seem to be the answer. The need for new roads exceeds the funding capacity and the ability to gain environmental and public approval. In many of the nation s most congested corridors there doesn t seem to be the space, money and public approval to add enough road space to create an acceptable condition. The chosen options will vary from area to area, but the growth in congestion over the past 18 years suggests that more needs to be done. More roads and more transit are part of the equation.