For Immediate Release – September 1, 2009
TxDOT Launches Online Tools Highlighting State’s Top 100 Congested Roadways
Posting of information on pavement quality, impact of spending complies with legislative request
AUSTIN - The Texas Department of Transportation unveiled new website tools Tuesday,
enabling website visitors to interactively examine lists of congested roadways in the state, look
up pavement condition ratings and see how the maintenance funds spent in their area will
impact their roadways. The tools, which are linked to the department’s project tracker, were
created at the direction of the Texas Legislature.
The idea of sharing congestion data with the public is not new – the Texas Transportation
Institute (TTI) at Texas A&M University has long-distributed reports on congestion levels
throughout the United States, including those levels in Texas. Sharing the information in such
an interactive and state-focused manner is always an appropriate exercise, especially in times
of tight funding. TxDOT will work with Metropolitan Planning Organizations across the state to
align resources to meet the most pressing needs.
TxDOT coordinated with outside research institutions to ensure the accuracy and impartiality of
the methodology used in the new tools. While TxDOT tracks pavement quality scores, the
Center for Transportation Research, housed at the University of Texas, provided the information
to determine the impact of maintenance expenditures based on a formula developed by their
researchers. The list of the top 100 most congested roadways was compiled using information
from TTI, which creates an annual list of most congested urban areas in the nation based on
their calculation of a Traffic Congestion Index.
The new website tools and the TxDOT project tracker are available by visiting
http://www.txdot.gov/project_information/default.htm.
The Texas Department of Transportation
The Texas Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining nearly 80,000 miles of road
and for supporting aviation, rail and public transportation across the state. TxDOT and its 15,000
employees strive to empower local leaders to solve local transportation problems, and to use new
financial tools, including tolling and public-private partnerships, to reduce congestion and pave the way
for future economic growth while enhancing safety, improving air quality and increasing the value of the
state’s transportation assets. Find out more at www.txdot.gov.
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For more information, call TxDOT’s Government & Public Affairs Division at (512) 463-8588

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