The Texas Transportation Institute 2015 Urban Mobility Scorecard has showed that the gridlock is costing residents of the state’s five largest metropolitan areas an average of about 52 hours and US$1,200 a year.
Pending approval by the Texas Transportation Commission, Texas Department of Transportation plans to improve drive times and reduce costs to drivers through a US$1.3bn effort focused on delivering projects at an accelerated pace in some of the most congested areas.
“The major metro areas of Texas – Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio – represent more than two-thirds of the state’s population and 97 percent of the state’s most congested roads,” said Texas Transportation commissioner Bruce Bugg Jr, who was appointed to lead the statewide effort. “These areas see some of the worst congestion in the nation. We’ve just completed a listening tour in these major areas and have gathered valuable local input from transportation leaders regarding their priorities and where we can quickly address some needs. This is the initial phase of a new statewide plan to address congestion.”
If adopted by the commission, the projects will begin construction to enhance existing efforts. The projects, which add up to more than 42 miles, include interchanges, flyovers and congestion relief efforts at some of the state’s worst choke-points. They will be funded using money made available through ending the use of diversions of highway money by other agencies.
“I recently directed TxDOT to work with transportation planners and local communities across the state to reduce congestion, and today’s proposal is a significant first step in doing just that,” said state governor Greg Abbott. “Texans are tired of sitting in traffic and have voted to make a historic investment in our state’s transportation infrastructure. I want to thank the Texas Transportation Commission for rapidly responding with a thoughtful approach that identifies and addresses some of the state’s most congested choke-points.”
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