Summary: "Fort Worth — which has more than 499,385 workers 16 years old and up — ranked at No. 10 in Forbes’ Hardest Commutes in the U.S.' The region will require at least $431.5 billion by 2040 to eliminate traffic congestion through new roads and other improvements, but only 30% of that cost — $118.9 billion — is expected. At an estimated cost of $1.6 billion, the Southeast Connector Project is currently underway to rebuild and widen about 11 miles of I-820 and Interstate 20."
Latest Update: posted 21 November, 2024
Tags: #Streets #AreaGrowth
"Fort Worth motorists increasingly stuck in traffic as commute times increase." Article.
[Excerpts from article below.]
Fort Worth — which has more than 499,385 workers 16 years old and up — ranked at No. 10 in Forbes’ “Hardest Commutes in the U.S.” study with an average time of 26.80 minutes.
“It is also estimated that those who drive regularly in and around Fort Worth spend 46 hours (annually) on the road due to congestion.”
Motorists who drive in rush hour traffic — usually 6:30 to 9 a.m. and 4:30 to 7 p.m. on weekdays — added two days and one hour to their commutes in 2023. The average speed during rush-hour commutes is about 20 to 25 mph.
The region will require at least $431.5 billion by 2040 to eliminate traffic congestion through new roads and other improvements, but only 30% of that cost — $118.9 billion — is expected.
At an estimated cost of $1.6 billion, the Southeast Connector Project is currently underway to rebuild and widen about 11 miles of I-820 and Interstate 20.
Regional leaders say that North Texas’ sprawling growth will be a factor in lengthening commute times as the population is expected to double from 8 million to more than 15 million by 2050.
Willow Park Civics Sources and Resources
[1] Fort Worth motorists increasingly stuck in traffic as commute times increase, Fort Worth Report, 17 November 2024, Excerpts.
Fort Worth — which has more than 499,385 workers 16 years old and up — ranked at No. 10 in Forbes’ “Hardest Commutes in the U.S.” study with an average time of 26.80 minutes. The city came in right behind Dallas, which had an average commute time of 29.70 minutes.
The 2024 study, based on eight data points including U.S. Census information, showed Fort Worth has a walkability score of 35 and an access to transit score of 22 out of 100. The percentage of households without access to a vehicle was 2.10%.
Travel times in the Fort Worth area increased by nine seconds between 2022 and 2023, according to the Patterson Law Group, which has offices in Fort Worth and Arlington.
“While that does not seem like much, it adds up when this amount of time is added to each trip,” the personal injury law firm said in a blog post. “It is also estimated that those who drive regularly in and around Fort Worth spend 46 hours (annually) on the road due to congestion.”
Motorists who drive in rush hour traffic — usually 6:30 to 9 a.m. and 4:30 to 7 p.m. on weekdays — added two days and one hour to their commutes in 2023 due to congestion, accidents and other issues, Patterson Law Group said.
The average speed during rush-hour commutes is about 20 to 25 mph, according to the Parker Law Firm, a personal injury law firm based in Fort Worth and Bedford.
Residents are “frustrated and limited” when it comes to regional transportation — mostly because roads haven’t kept up with growth and transit services are limited, a North Central Texas Council of Governments survey of more than 4,400 people found in 2022-23.
Of the respondents, about 48% said expanding public transit is North Texas’ biggest challenge while 37% said reducing traffic congestion is a key issue.
Transit needs
Regional leaders say that North Texas’ sprawling growth will be a factor in lengthening commute times as the population is expected to double from 8 million to more than 15 million by 2050.
The region will require at least $431.5 billion by 2040 to eliminate traffic congestion through new roads and other improvements, but only 30% of that cost — $118.9 billion — is expected, transit leaders have said.
TxDOT has other road projects to ease congestion, including the $175 million I-820 East Loop Project, which began construction in July 2018. That project reconstructed the existing highway to add more lanes and access roads in each direction, replaced Trinity River bridges and created new connectors to State Highway 121.
At an estimated cost of $1.6 billion, the Southeast Connector Project is currently underway to rebuild and widen about 11 miles of I-820 and Interstate 20.
The project, representing the largest investment in transportation infrastructure in the history of TxDOT’s Fort Worth district, will widen I-820 to eight main lanes from I-20 to Spur 303 (Rosedale Street) and widen I-20 to 10 main lanes from I-820 to U.S. Highway 287. The interchanges to connect I-20, I-820 and Highway 287 will also be rebuilt. The completion date for that project is 2028.
The road construction projects are part of the $3.8 billion initiative started by Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Legislature to reduce gridlock in Texas’ most congested areas.
Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments and staff director to the Regional Transportation Council, said factors such as density of housing and jobs will affect congestion.
“As NCTCOG and the Regional Transportation Council plan for 2050, the critical question is: Can local governments reduce congestion through land-use density, resulting in higher holding capacities and shorter trip lengths with a balance of jobs to housing?” Morris said in a commentary published in the Fort Worth Report in July. “In other words, how can cities help reduce traffic congestion while providing opportunities for jobs and housing near the workplace?”
New and existing toll lanes on highways will aid in traffic congestion, but more transit options such as the proposed high-speed rail line from Fort Worth to Arlington and Dallas are needed, regional leaders say.
“The regional long-term success of DFW is connected to regional partnerships, such as the high-speed rail project, as the region is poised to be the third-largest metro region in the country by 2030 — with a majority of the growth occurring west,” Parker said earlier this year. “Collectively, our success is dependent on world-class mobility solutions that connect not just DFW but the entire state of Texas.”
Hundreds of thousands of Fort Worth-area residents are now using commuter rail to reach their destinations as passenger counts for TEXRail and Trinity Railway Express in 2024 exceeded last year’s ridership figures.
“We’re thrilled with the numbers seen on both of our rail systems. … The growth has been pretty amazing,” Reed Lanham, Trinity Metro’s vice president of rail, said in September.
Trinity Metro is planning a 2.1-mile expansion of TEXRail into the Near Southside district. The popular 27-mile commuter train currently runs from downtown Fort Worth to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
Trinity Railway Express, the commuter train between Fort Worth and Dallas, exceeded 1.1 million passengers this year.
What’s the data on how Tarrant County workers get to work?
About 76% of Tarrant County workers drove alone to work, according to Data USA. Those who carpooled to work reached 9.7%. The majority of Arlington motorists — 77.2% — drove alone to work while 9.75% carpooled.
The average Arlington commute is 26.9 minutes. Nearly 2% of drivers in Fort Worth and Arlington endured “super commutes” in excess of 90 minutes, Data USA research showed.
Congestion comeback
As commuters await more transit options, traffic congestion reigns across the Lone Star State. A recent study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that since 2021, when many worked remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the familiar pattern of rush hour congestion in mornings and evenings made a comeback.
For commuters, the study said, “… the comeback of congestion was most evident in the travel delay per auto commuter statistic. There were only five of the 101 intensively studied urban areas with less than 30 hours of extra annual travel time for a commuter in 2019. There were 73 such regions in 2020. The number of such regions in 2022 was five again.”
The Fort Worth-Arlington-Dallas area was listed as the nation’s 16th most congested metropolitan area by traffic delays, according to the study.
Nationally, the average commuter lost 54 hours per year because of traffic delays, resulting in 3.3 billion gallons of wasted gasoline — and more air quality issues associated with vehicle emissions. The economic effect was a cost of $224 billion, according to the institute’s 2023 Urban Mobility Report.
Driving friendly?
The state slogan “Drive Friendly — the Texas Way,” approved in 1973 by then-Gov. Dolph Briscoe, apparently applies to Tarrant County’s two largest cities.
Arlington ranked No. 19 on the list of best and worst cities to drive in, while Fort Worth is No. 34, according to a new study by WalletHub that ranked 100 U.S. cities based on 30 key indicators, including cost of vehicle ownership and maintenance, traffic and infrastructure, safety and access to vehicles.
The data set ranges from average gas prices to annual hours in traffic congestion per auto commuter to the likelihood of accidents.
Motorists spend an average of nearly 370 hours on the road each year — totaling more than 15 days. The national study determined that it costs drivers an average of $733 when hours of wasted time and fuel caused by traffic congestion are added in.
Arlington, the fourth-best Texas city on the list, had a ranking of 58.46, while Fort Worth had a ranking of 56.45.
Other Texas cities that ranked high on the list include Plano (No. 10), Lubbock (No. 17), El Paso (No. 22), Garland (No. 27), Austin (No. 29) and Irving (No. 38).
Willow Park Civics Resources
• Index, Transportation Development in and around Willow Park, Willow Park Civics Blog
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