Community Corner

Pittsburgh's Five Worst Commutes

Do you agree with the rankings?

By Becky Brindle

As your patience wears thin while sitting in traffic, so is your wallet.

Driving on congested Pittsburgh roads costs area commuters a total of $1 billion each year—as much as $2,900 annually per driver depending on which route he or she travels, according to TRIP, a Washington, DC-based national transportation organization. In total, traffic congestion in the Pittsburgh area results in the use of an additional 21 million gallons of fuel and the loss of 46 million hours annually.

Here are the rankings of Pittsburgh’s five worst commutes, according to TRIP:

1. West Liberty Avenue and Crosstown Boulevard, including the Liberty Bridge and Tunnel from Brookline Boulevard to the Hazlett Street Interchange at Interstate 279 in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh. This congested corridor costs rush hour drivers 158 hours, 68 additional gallons of gas and $2,915 annually or $56 weekly. Traffic congestion could be relieved on this corridor by improved traffic light signalization, traffic management and transit service.

2. I-376 Parkway West from the SR 22/30/60 Interchange to the Fort Pitt Bridge in western Allegheny County in the Pittsburgh area. This congested corridor costs rush hour drivers 142 hours, 61 additional gallons of gas and $2,608 annually or $50 weekly. Traffic congestion could be relieved on this corridor by improving transit service, providing interchange improvements,and a park-and-ride facility.

3. Fifth Avenue West and Forbes Avenue East in downtown Pittsburgh from Bellefield Avenue to Sixth Avenue. This congested corridor costs rush hour drivers 142 hours, 61 additional gallons of gas and $2,608 annually or $50 weekly. Traffic congestion could be relieved in this corridor by improving bus rapid transit.

4. State Route 228 from Lovi Road to State Route 8 in the Cranberry area of Pittsburgh. This congested corridor costs rush hour drivers 133 hours, 57 additional gallons of gas and $2,455 annually or $47 weekly. Traffic congestion could be relieved on this corridor by widening and realignment, intersection improvements and improved traffic signalization.

5. State Route 51 (Saw Mill Run Boulevard) from I-376 Interchange (Fort Pitt Tunnel) to Lewis Run Road in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh. This congested corridor costs rush hour drivers 133 hours, 57 additional gallons of gas and $2,455 annually or $47 weekly. Traffic congestion could be relieved on this corridor by improvements in intersection design, traffic signalization and traffic management.

TRIP calculated each route’s traffic congestion delay based on data provided by PennDOT on the average time it takes to travel each corridor during peak hours and during non-congested periods. To estimate the amount of time and fuel lost annually by commuters traveling on these segments, TRIP compared travel times during rush hour and non-congested periods.

Do you agree with TRIP's worst commute rankings? Tell us where you sit in the most traffic in the comments below.


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