It's Not Your Imagination! You Are Spending More Time In North Texas Traffic

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NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A consistently growing population means there are more cars and trucks on North Texas roadways that ever. The result means drivers are spending more time stuck in rush hour, and off hour, traffic.

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute and INRIX Inc. published a new report that says traffic congestion here in North Texas, and across the country, reached a new peak last year. When it comes to commuters spending more time behind the wheel and wasting gas, Dallas-Fort Worth ranks 11th in the country.

According to the 2015 Urban Mobility Scorecard, travel delays due to traffic congestion caused drivers to waste more than 3 billion gallons of gas and left travelers stuck in their vehicles for nearly 7 billion extra hours – 42 hours per rush-hour commuter. But that's the national averages. Here in North Texas commuters are spending about 53 hours in bottleneck traffic.

One of the report's authors, Jim Bak, explained, "What we're seeing is a larger demographic trend where more and more people are moving and living in our bigger cities. The DOTs (Departments of Transportation) are doing their best job just trying to keep things status quo, and with the existing infrastructure it just can't handle it."

Many North Texans have accepted being stuck in traffic as an inevitable part of the day, but still wish they could change the amount of jarring potholes and area construction location

How do we break the gridlock? The A&M report says the country needs more roadway and transit investment to meet the demands of population growth and economic expansion.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Americans have driven more than 3 trillion miles in the last 12 months.

While traffic headaches in Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington rank 11th in the nation, the worst congestion problems are in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles -- where drivers waste more than 80 hours a year.

Her is a list of the Top 11 urban areas ranked by the average annual extra hours commuters spend in their cars due to delay, together with the cost in lost time and fuel.

1. Washington, D.C.-Virginia-Maryland, 82 hours, $1,834
2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, 80 hours, $1,711
3. San Francisco-Oakland, 78 hours, $1,675
4. New York-Newark, New Jersey-Connecticut, 74 hours, $1,739
5. San Jose, California, 67 hours, $1,422
6. Boston-New Hampshire-Rhode Island, 64 hours, $1,388
7. Seattle, 63 hours, $1,491
8. (tie) Chicago-Indiana, 61 hours, $1,445
9. (tie) Houston, 61 hours, $1,490
10. Riverside-San Bernardino, California, 59 hours, $1,316
11. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 53 hours, $1,185

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