WASHINGTON – Maryland drivers lost 52.1 million hours in highway bottlenecks in 2002, an average of 16 minutes wasted by each driver in every rush-hour trip through the worst spots, according to a new report.
The report, released Thursday by the American Highway Users Alliance, said Maryland had the seventh- and 15th-worst bottlenecks in the nation, at the Capital Beltway interchanges with Interstate 270 and Interstate 95, respectively.
But the report also listed eight other trouble spots in Maryland among the 233 worst bottlenecks in the nation, with the state’s problem roads spreading through Baltimore City and Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard and Baltimore counties.
“I’m not surprised to hear that,” said Craig Talbott, a vice president with the Maryland Motor Truck Association. “A trip that during weekdays takes me an hour to two hours from northern Maryland to Baltimore, takes me just 45 minutes during the weekend or holidays.”
The report is the second by the alliance, a nonprofit advocacy group that claims to represent motorists, truckers, bus companies and other business that are dependent on highways. It said the number of highway bottlenecks in the country grew by 40 percent since the first report was issued in 1999.
The worst spot in the nation was in Los Angeles, where the study estimated that drivers wasted 27 million hours in 2002 at the interchange of the Ventura Freeway and Interstate 405. Los Angeles had four of the 10 worst bottlenecks in the nation.
The I-270/Beltway interchange in Maryland was seventh-worst in the nation and caused 19.4 million hours of delays in 2002, the report said. The interchange of the Beltway and I-95 in Prince George’s County was 15th-most congested in the country, with an estimated 15 million hours in delays.
Diane Steed, the president and CEO of the alliance, said bottlenecks are not just annoying to drivers. Any reduction in congestion also has a direct effect in preventing crashes, cutting pollution and saving money in gasoline, she said.
Steed said the solution to bottlenecks is not just building more highways or adding lanes, but also in operating strategies like intelligent systems, high-occupancy lanes, design changes and other elements.
But Montgomery County Sierra Club Chairwoman Ann Ambler said the solution is not more concrete, but more mass transit and a better distribution of jobs in the area.
“There is no reason we have to lay down more concrete,” Ambler said. “(There is) enough concrete to provide space for every car that wants to go wherever.”
Talbott said he believes the number of cars with single drivers is the main cause of the problem.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich is “very concerned about the growing congestion,” which is why he has proposed raising additional money for roads by increasing user fees, such as vehicle registration fees and traffic fines. Flanagan said studies on the expansion of I-495 and I-270 are currently under way, and work could begin in four to six years.
Amanda Knittle, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said the governor’s plan is good — but only if the money is guaranteed to go to roads and not other purposes. Flanagan said Ehrlich is committed to improving the highways.
In addition to the bottlenecks on the Capital Beltway, the report said other trouble spots in Maryland were:
— the interchange of Interstates 695 and 70, which cost drivers 4.4 million hours in 2002.
— I-95 between Interstate 895 and State Route 43 in Baltimore, which cost drivers 3.1 million hours.
— Interstate 83 at the Baltimore Beltway, which cost 3 million hours.
— I-695 between I-70 and I-95, for a 2.1-million-hour delay.
— Interstate 795 at the Baltimore Beltway, 1.4 million hours.
— State Route 100 at U.S. Route 29 in Howard County, 1.3 million hours.
— the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at Powder Mill Road, 1.1 million hours.
— and the B-W Parkway at the Capital Beltway, 881,000 hours.
-30- CNS 02-19-04