Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85635
by Tina Grady Barbaccia, News and Digital Editor Agg For daily news updates and Web-exclusive news items, visit the "AggBeat Online" section of our Web site at www.aggman.com The Congestion Problem: TTI identifies the worst stretches of highway that offer unpredictable travel times. In the first nationwide effort to identify specific stretches of high- UNRELIABLE Reliably way responsible for significant traffic congestion at different times and on different days, the Texas Transportation Institute's (TTI) 2011 Congested Corridors Report helps motorists ascertain exactly where to expect traffic delays and how to plan for them. Researchers for the TTI (a Texas A&M University System agency) report noted that the corridors included in the report were identified by the data itself. predictable — "so, not only does it take longer, commuters and truckers have a difficult time knowing how much longer it will take each time they make the same trip," said co-author David Schrank. However, even more significant, Eisele told Aggregates Manager, is that the 328 corridors studied represent just 6 per- cent of the nation's lane miles, but account for 36 percent of the country's urban congestion. "There are a relatively small amount of roads representing more than one-third of the congestion on roadways," Eisele said in a phone interview. "This is striking. These are the places that are ripe for investment." How investment is made will vary depending on location. In some areas, Eisele pointed out, investment might mean addi- tional lanes or additional transit such as rail or bus. In other areas, it might mean aggressively clearing crashes off of a highway so additional congestion is not endured. "It comes down to reassessing how and when we use the road- way system," Eisele said. "Do we all need to drive at the same time? Flex time and telecommuting could make some impact on congestion." The 328 corridors studied in the Texas Transportation Institute's 2011 Congested Corridors Report represent just 6 per cent of the nation's lane miles, but account for 36 percent of the country's urban congestion. INRIX, a traffic data and analytics provider, originated the cor- ridor approach using 10 hours of congestion per week to define a starting point for a congested corridor. To be considered a "cor- ridor," according to the INRIX standard adopted for this report, congestion should impact a freeway segment at least 3 miles long. "Until now, we've been able to measure average congestion levels, but congestion isn't an 'average' problem," TTI Research Engineer Bill Eisele noted in a written statement about the report. The report describes congestion problems in 328 seriously congest- ed corridors over a variety of times — all day, morning and evening peaks, midday, and weekends. Not only were these roads found to have more stop-and-go traffic than others, they were also much less Although there is no single best way to fix the problem, the best solutions will come from efforts that have meaningful in- volvement from everyone concerned — agencies, businesses, and travelers. The study finds that the "best approach" is to consider all of the following congestion solutions: • Traditional road building and new or expanded transit facilities; • Traffic management strategies such as aggressive crash removal; • Demand management strategies like improving commuter information and employer-based ideas such as telecommuting and flexible work hours; and • Denser development patterns with a mix of jobs, shops, and homes so people can walk, bike, or take transit to more and closer destinations. Eisele suggests that development patterns be considered for communities and cities. "If we can place our schools and places of work closer together, we can minimize trips," he said. "In some places it makes sense, but it in other places, it may not be an op- tion. But when you're thinking about buying a home, look at how AGGREGATES MANAGER January 2012 5