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Increasing Highway Capacity Unlikely to Relieve Traffic Congestion

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  • Handy, Susan

Abstract

Reducing traffic congestion is often proposed as a solution for improving fuel efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Traffic congestion has traditionally been addressed by adding additional roadway capacity via constructing entirely new roadways, adding additional lanes to existing roadways, or upgrading existing highways to controlled-access freeways. Numerous studies have examined the effectiveness of this approach and consistently show that adding capacity to roadways fails to alleviate congestion for long because it actually increases vehicle miles traveled (VMT). An increase in VMT attributable to increases in roadway capacity where congestion is present is called “induced travel”. The basic economic principles of supply and demand explain this phenomenon: adding capacity decreases travel time, in effect lowering the “price” of driving; and when prices go down, the quantity of driving goes up. Induced travel counteracts the effectiveness of capacity expansion as a strategy for alleviating traffic congestion and offsets in part or in whole reductions in GHG emissions that would result from reduced congestion. View the NCST Project Webpage

Suggested Citation

  • Handy, Susan, 2015. "Increasing Highway Capacity Unlikely to Relieve Traffic Congestion," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt58x8436d, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
  • Handle: RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt58x8436d
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    Cited by:

    1. Barbour, Elisa & Chatman, Daniel G. & Doggett, Sarah & Yip, Stella & Santana, Manuel, 2019. "SB 743 Implementation: Challenges and Opportunities," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt4gj3n2n3, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    2. Susan Handy, 2017. "Roundabouts of a figurative kind," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(4), pages 407-411, July.
    3. Barbour, Elisa & Thoron, Noah, 2023. "Local Option Sales Taxes, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and SB 375: A Question of Priorities," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt03x7j4g3, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    4. Brown, Austin L. & Fleming, Kelly L. & Lipman, Timothy & Fulton, Lew & Saphores, Jean Daniel & Tal, Gil & Murphy, Colin W & Shaheen, Susan & Austin, Bernadette & Garcia Sanchez, Juan Carlos & Martin, , 2020. "Carbon Neutrality Study 1:Driving California’s Transportation Emissions to Zero," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt5zb1238j, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    5. Brown, Austin L. & Sperling, Daniel & Austin, Bernadette & DeShazo, JR & Fulton, Lew & Lipman, Timothy & Murphy, Colin W & Saphores, Jean Daniel & Tal, Gil & Abrams, Carolyn & Chakraborty, Debapriya &, 2021. "Driving California’s Transportation Emissions to Zero," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt3np3p2t0, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    6. Volker, Jamey M.B. PhD & Handy, Susan L PhD, 2021. "The Induced Travel Calculator and Its Applications," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt2nr6q5rc, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.

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