Interstate 710 in Los Angeles is, just like Los Angeles itself is well-known due to its infrastructure. Freight trucks that travel through the city, and Long Beach's port Long Beach, along with commuters, cause congestion on the highway. Trucks idle in traffic jam, which contributes to the poor conditions for air in the neighborhoods around them which are home to more than one million residents.

The solution proposed was the same as the one that transportation officials across America have employed in the past since 1960: Expand the highway. However, while adding lanes could reduce congestion however, it could also motivate drivers to travel more. In the years following the highway has been widened, research indicates that traffic along with the emissions of greenhouse gases that go along with it usually return.

The California Department of Transportation was, as many other state transportation agencies created to construct highways. Each year, states invest billions of dollars to expand highways. Other solutions to congestion, such as public transit as well as pedestrian-oriented projects are typically taken care of by transit agencies in cities and are funded less.

In over the course of five years the states will receive $350 billion federal funds for highways under the infrastructure law that was passed in the year 2000. While some have signaled a change in their approach to transportation spending -- including following federal Title ="">guidelines that advocate the use of a "fix it first" approach prior to constructing new highways Many are still seeking multibillion-dollar widening projects even in states that are Democratically-led with lofty climate goals.

It is believed that the Biden administration suggests that the states be more considerate in their strategies for tackling congestion. Sometimes, widening the roads is required Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated however other ways of solving traffic problems, such as improving existing roads or offering transportation options, must be taken into consideration. "Connecting people more efficiently and affordably to where they need to go," he stated, "is a lot more complicated than just always having more concrete and asphalt out there."

Certain communities and government officials are fighting back against expanding plans. The case of Los Angeles, this opposition was a factor. After the expenditure of $60 million in design and planning for two decades The Route 710 expansion was canceled in May.

"We don't see widening as a strategy for L.A.," said James de la Loza, chief planner of Los Angeles County's transportation department.

It is yet to be determined whether this cancellation could be the start of a pattern or just an isolated event. Projects to widen the highway are in the pipeline for roads in Texas, Oregon and Maryland among others. New York City is even contemplating re-widening the congestion-stricken Brooklyn Queens Expressway.

LOS ANGELES

A Change in Approach to Congestion

The denial of Route 710's Route 710 expansion came after California was taught the hard way about the principles of "induced demand."

In 2015 the year 2015, a $1 billion construction project to broaden a 10-mile stretch along Interstate 405 to Los Angeles was completed. In the short time, "congestion was relieved," said Tony Tavares, the director of Caltrans the state's Department of Transportation.

However, the relief did not last long. The rush hour traffic quickly recovered, he explained.

If a highway is widening, the time to travel drop initially. However, people then alter their habits. If they learn that a road is less crowded commuters could shift from driving to transit or alter the route they travel to get to work. Some might even decide to live further away.

"It's a pretty basic economic principle that if you reduce the price of a good then people will consume more of it," Susan Handy is an associate professor of environmental science as well as policy and management at the University of California, Davis explained. "That's essentially what we're doing when we expand freeways."

The idea of inducing traffic has been in use since the 1960s. However, in an 2009 study researchers confirmed what experts in transportation have observed for many years: in an urban area, when the road capacity is increased by one percent, the amount of vehicles that are in the roadway after a couple of years also rises to 1 percent.

Over the years, opponents on Route 710 have been vocal about their concerns. Route 710 plan had voiced reservations that the increased width of the highway would result in more greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the deforestation of the towns surrounding it.

In the latter half of 2020 In the latter half of 2020, the E.P.A. decided that the plan to widen was in violation of regulations of the Federal Clean Air Act, and officials suspended the project. In the spring of last year, Caltrans canceled the project entirely. The project was canceled completely. Tavares said it was "probably the most significant" cancellation in the history of the agency.

Caltrans is exploring alternative options for dealing with congestion on the Interstate and could include moving freight onto a rail line.

"Caltrans in the past was very focused on dealing with congestion primarily," Mr. Tavares said. "We have since pivoted, completely done a 180."

State transportation agencies have said they were shifting their focus on providing citizens with alternatives other than driving . They are planning to redirect funds to projects that benefit communities that surround Route 710. Some options include improving air quality in schools, ensuring more access to green spaces and investing in a zero emission truck program.

However, there are plans to broaden other highways throughout the state. "One size does not fit all for transportation, and California is definitely not one size," Mr. Tavares said.

JERSEY CITY, N.J.

Air Quality in comparison to. the Economy

On a day that was unseasonably warm in November of 2011, a plethora of north New Jersey residents gathered in the shade of an overpass for the highway located in Jersey City, just across the Hudson River from New York. In a state with a high density of residents with an extensive transit infrastructure there were many who wondered what the reason was behind the decision to expand the highway.

"If we are looking to become an outstanding state, take a take a look at the work Colorado is doing in putting an end to their road expansions. Check out Los Angeles," Jimmy Lee President of Safe Streets JC, said.

New Jersey transportation officials plan to rebuild and create as many as four lanes parts on the New Jersey Turnpike leading to the Holland Tunnel. Apart from transporting traffic to Manhattan the turnpike also serves as similar to Route 710 within Los Angeles, an artery frequented by freight vehicles that transport goods between ports as well as warehouses located in the region.

This project is estimated to cost around $10.7 billion, will include the reconstruction of elevated roads and the bridge that crosses Newark Bay on the long-running highway that was built 66 years ago.

Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti who is the head of the state's transportation department, claimed the project was way overdue. A flood of new homes and warehouses for commercial use in the region has clogged the highway with vehicles. This expansion is required to improve the security of the highway and ensure that the ports, the most important element of the economy of New Jersey, stay functional.

"Congestion is not safe," Ms. Gutierrez-Scaccetti stated. "I don't advocate widening roads just for the sake of widening."

The project has the backing of the governor of New Jersey, Philip D. Murphy, who is a Democrat who has set high-profile climate targets for New Jersey as well as local labor leaders. Mark Longo, director of an organization that represents heavy equipment owners, said it is "the single most important road project for the economic future of New Jersey."

The plan's critics say congestion can be tackled through other methods, such as investing in public transportation. The officials in Hoboken along with Jersey City, which surround the highway and suffer from one of the poorest air quality in the nation and have criticized the plan.

"There are other types of mobility that people value instead of just cars," Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said.

HOUSTON

A Commitment to Expansion

For those who oppose broadening projects, the best illustration of induced need is Katy Freeway in Houston, one of the most expansive highways on the planet featuring 26 lanes.

The moment Katy's last expansion was completed back in 2008, the expansion was celebrated as a success. In the next just five years peak hour traffic time on Katy's freeway had become longer than they were prior to when the project was completed.

Matt Turner, an economics professor at Brown University and co-author of the study of congestion in 2009, believes that adding lanes is an ideal solution if the intention is to put more cars onto the road. However, the majority of highway expansion projects, such as those currently being developed in Texas are based on the reduction of traffic as their main purpose.

"If you keep adding lanes because you want to reduce traffic congestion, you have to be really determined not to learn from history," Dr. Turner said.

The officials of the Texas Department of Transportation said Katy expansion was a necessity. Katy expansion would provide the capacity required to meet the projected population increase in the Houston region.

"Expanding roads does not create more congestion," transportation officials stated in an announcement. They said that, instead that they said, it "helps to manage new travel demand."

The Texas Constitution mandates that the majority of the transportation budget goes towards improving the state's highway system. Over the next few years the state is expected to invest 86 % of its budget for highway-related projects.

One of them are a $9.5 billion project to widen and reconstruct the section of Interstate 45, which crosses routes along Katy Freeway. Katy Freeway. Transportation officials have said that the project will improve safety, ease the amount of traffic and also address flooding on the road.

The idea to build Route 45, Dr. Handy stated, is yet another plan that is being promoted as a way to reduce congestion. "But what's especially troubling about that project is the destruction to the neighborhood that it will cause."

According to the Texas Transportation Department estimates that that more than 1000 people and 300 businesses in the neighborhoods around that are home to the majority of residents, Black and Hispanic and could be affected due to the expansion.

In the meantime Houston's public transportation department are putting together funds from federal grants and bonds to provide an another way to combat growth and congestion 500 miles of enhancements for public transit.

Additional productions produced by Stephen Reiss.
http://www.dream11today.com/widening-highways-doesnt-fix-traffic-so-why-do-we-keep-doing-it/