Road congestion in some of Texas’ largest metropolitan areas cost drivers over $1.2 billion in 2022, according to a new report from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
The state’s 10 most congested roadways were located in Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, the report states. Across Texas, researchers found that traffic delays were 7% longer in 2022 than 2021.
Each year, the TTI measures congestion on over 2,100 road segments, or about 10,000 miles of Texas roads. The Texas Legislature directed the TTI to begin conducting the annual study in 2009 due to growing urban road congestion.
Texas’ most congested roadway last year was Houston’s Interstate 610 West—also known as the West Loop Freeway—between the Katy Freeway and the Southwest Freeway.
Congestion on the West Loop cost motorists over $120 million in 2022, according to data from the TTI.
Five other Houston-area roadways were within the top 10 most congested segments. In Dallas-Fort Worth, portions of the Woodall Rodgers Freeway, the North Freeway and US 75 were highly congested. Austin’s I-35 also made the list.
Researchers found that in 2022, drivers across Texas spent 7% longer in traffic than the year prior. However, traffic delays remained below prepandemic levels, according to a news release from the Texas Department of Transportation.
Delays in 2022 were 23% lower than in 2019, TxDOT reported. Meanwhile, overall traffic volume on roads across Texas has increased 2% since 2019.
“It’s encouraging to see the impact our work is having on Texas roads throughout the state to help ease congestion,” TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said in the release. “But our work isn’t done. As more and more people move to Texas, we need to keep moving forward with projects that address traffic congestion and improve safety in areas that need it most.”
