New Research Shows Traffic Congestion Costs NWA Millions
By: Rebecca Jeffrey
Updated: October 10, 2012
If it seems like you've been sitting in a lot of traffic, you're not alone.
In fact, a local non-profit went so far as to hire traffic researchers to find out just how much traffic congestion costs.
"We wanted professionals to actually quantify how much it costs, to have our residents and have our commercial vehicles sitting in traffic everyday," President & CEO Northwest Arkansas Council, Mike Malone said.
According to Texas A&M's Transportation Institute, sitting in traffic costs Northwest Arkansans $103 millions a year. Which is comparable to areas twice our size and population.
The research was conducted on 8 roads in NWA.
U.S. 412 (Springdale)
Walton Boulevard (Bentonville)
College Avenue (Fayetteville)
Walnut Avenue (Rogers)
U.S. 71 (Bella Vista)
Thompson Avenue (Springdale)
I-540 (MLK Blvd. to AR 112)
I-540 (Elm Springs Road to Pleasant Grove Road)
"I was blown away at the size and the magnitude of the cost of congestion in Northwest Arkansas," Malone said.
The number comes from a couple sources.
"Between, wasted time and wasted fuel, we put a price tag on traffic congestion," David Schrank, Associate Research Scientist with A&M Transportation Institute said.
The fix however, may make the congestion worse, before it gets better.
"Build and construct projects in Northwest Arkansas that will help address the congestion that we're facing. Construction is disruptive but so is stop and go traffic, so is a fender bender that shuts down 540," Malone said.
The Council says construction may cost money, but it's better than sitting in 100 million dollars worth of traffic.
"Once those construction areas start freeing up, maybe the 100 plus million price tag drops to 75 million or 50 million because things are moving better," Schrank said.
In the November election Arkansans will have the opportunity to vote on Issue #1 that would increase sales tax by half a cent for 10 years toward road construction in the state. For each household, that will roughly cost 75 dollars a year.
To find out more about Issue 1, visit www.movearkansasforward.com.
