DC Region Ranks No. 6 in Traffic Congestion

Think the traffic congestion in the Washington, DC, region is bad? 

If so, you're not exaggerating.

The DC metropolitan area ranks as the sixth-most congested region in the country, according to the INRIX Traffic Scorecard.

In particular, the 6.3-mile section of the Inner Loop that runs between exits 25 (U.S. Route 1, Baltimore Avenue) and 31 (state Route 97, Georgia Avenue) is the second-most congested corridor in the region and the 33rd-most congested corridor in the country. (Last year, it was the 23rd-most congested corridor in the country.) That little stretch of road requires an average of 15 minutes to traverse during the morning rush hour—an 8-minute delay with an average speed of 26 mph, according to INRIX.

Nationally, congestion peaks between 7:45 and 8 a.m. and between 5:30 and 5:45 p.m. The worst metropolitan areas in the country for traffic congestion in 2011, and the number of hours wasted per year by the average commuter in each of those regions, according to INRIX, are:

1. Honolulu (58 hours) 
2. Los Angeles (56 hours)
3. San Francisco (48 hours)
4. New York (57 hours)
5. Bridgeport, CT (42 hours)
6. Washington, DC (45 hours)
7. Seattle (33 hours)
8. Austin (30 hours)
9. Boston (35 hours) 
10. Chicago (36 hours) 

Congestion was not as bad in 2011 as in 2010, however. "Over 1,400 miles of our nation’s main corridors were congested last year, down from 2,300 miles in 2010," reported INRIX, which has issued annual traffic scorecards since 2007. 

The last time that the U.S. experienced "such a significant drop in traffic congestion was 2008 when traffic congestion plummeted 30 percent as the country fell into the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. With only moderate increases in employment in 2011, the data indicates the country may be experiencing the jobless recovery economists warned of during the recession," INRIX added.

To arrive at the figures on its traffic scorecard, INRIX compared congestion levels in metropolitan regions during peak hours only—between 6 and 10 a.m., and between 3 and 7 p.m., INRIX reported.

How bad is your commute? How long do you spend in the car each day? Or, do you bike or use public transportation?