Earther:

Americans drove 40 percent more miles in 2019 than they did in 1994, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. More driving means more congested traffic. So to reduce congestion, it makes sense to build more highway lanes so that more cars can fit. Right? Actually, no. A new report from the policy organization Transportation for America shows that doesn’t work at all.

That’s because when you build more highways, people start driving more and filling up the lanes in a matter of years. From 1993 to 2017, according to a study by A1 Auto Transport, the average person drove 20 percent more miles. Right after a highway is widened, traffic does speed up, and drivers take advantage of that by “switching from other routes, driving further distances or traveling during the busiest time of the day,” the report, which looked at federal and state data on traffic and freeway growth, says. “People who had previously avoided congestion—whether by riding transit, carpooling, traveling during less congested times of day, or foregoing the trip altogether—start driving on that route more because it has become more convenient.”

As the article explains, solving our traffic congestion issues by building more roads won’t work. We’ve got to find ways to get cars off the road, not make it easier/better for them.