Study Finds Number of Traffic Bottlenecks Increasing

here were 233 major traffic bottlenecks in 2002, compared with 167 in 1997, according to a study released by Cambridge Systematics Inc. on Thursday.

The study said the worst bottleneck is currently in Los Angeles on the Ventura Freeway at the I-405 interchange. California highway officials estimate traffic is jammed for nearly five hours every weekday afternoon, the Associated Press reported.

Behind the Ventura Freeway, the worst bottlenecks were the Interstate 610 West-Interstate 10 interchange in Houston; Chicago's I-90/94-I-290 interchange; the I-10 interchange with state roads 51 and 202 in Phoenix; and the San Diego Freeway-I-10 interchange in Los Angeles.

About half of all traffic jams are caused by too many cars on too little road, the report said. Traffic accidents, work zones, bad weather and poor signal timing account for the rest.

The study, which was commissioned by the American Highway Users Alliance, also found that seven of the 18 previous top chokepoints had disappeared as a result of major construction projects.

In Congress, the House is still debating a highway funding bill, while the Senate last week passed a $318 billion bill covering the next six years. However, President Bush proposed spending $256 billion and his advisers have said they will recommend he veto any bill much larger than that.

11157