Congestion is bad and getting worse across the country. Space for new lanes is limited, and funding for new construction is nearly nonexistent.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is familiar with the quandary. Its Interstate 405/State Route 167 corridor is often congested for 10 hours each work day. The high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are so popular that carpoolers and transit riders no longer receive the travel-time savings and trip-time reliability they’ve come to rely on. The area is projected to grow by 1 million residents over the next 20 years.