San Antonio traffic still better than Austin, Dallas, Houston, study finds

San Antonio highways don’t crack Texas’ Top 10 Most Congested Roads

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio drivers may not love the traffic in some of the busiest parts of town, but a new study finds that drivers in other major Texas cities spend a lot more time on congested roadways to get to their destinations.

Each year, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute puts out an analysis of the most congested roads in Texas. The rankings are based on 2019 data before the COVID-19 pandemic started.

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The most congested roadway in Texas is in Austin on IH-35, according to the study. The annual cost of the congestion, based on wasted time and fuel, amounted to $288,349,730. Collectively, drivers endured 1,647,353 hours of delay per mile on that same stretch of the highway.

The other freeways on the Top 10 Most Congested Roads in Texas were in parts of Austin, Dallas and Houston.

San Antonio’s most congested road is on McAllister Freeway, between Stone Oak Parkway and Loop 1604, according to the study. That segment is the 26th busiest road in the state, causing more than $24 million in annual congestion costs and 394,686 hours of delay per mile, the study found.

Traffic there has improved from last year’s numbers when the roadway ranked 20th in the rankings.

Other congested San Antonio roadways include IH-35 between 410 North and Loop 1604, and 410 North between I-10 and Highway 281.

In total, the San Antonio area is home to 11 of the most congested roads in the state.

The annual ranking first began after the Texas Legislature ordered the Texas Department of Transportation to create the list in 2009. The first ranking came out in 2014.

The analysis is used to help measure and identify traffic barriers and helps analysts gain insight into what strategies may be effective in mitigating the congestion.

Read the full summary of the report below:


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