Press Releases - September 2008

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH, GOVERNMENT DATA SHOW INCREASING CONGESTION ON I-5 COSTS $174 MILLION ANNUALLY
Completing the 241 Toll Road Will Reduce Daily Delays, Stress and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Save Time and Gas

IRVINE, Calif. (Sept. 16, 2008) – Commuters currently waste up to $174 million annually in lost time and increased fuel costs because of growing congestion on Interstate 5. Completing the 241 Toll Road will reduce congestion on Interstate 5 and arterial roads in South Orange County, resulting in improved productivity, better gasoline mileage and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, based on statistical models and reports from independent research and government agencies.

“Completing the 241 Toll Road is about improving the quality of life for residents of Orange County and the people who travel through the county,” said Jerry Amante, chairman of the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA), the government agency responsible for planning the project. Amante is also mayor of the City of Tustin. “Less commuting means more time with your friends and family. Less traffic means better gas mileage. It is all about keeping Southern California a great place to live.”

The statistical models and data come from multiple sources: the 2007 Urban Mobility Report (UMR), Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX; U.S. Department of Transportation; The Bureau of Transportation Economics (BTE), Australia; and the University of California at Riverside (UCR) School of Engineering.

Estimates show that drivers stuck in congestion on I-5 in Southern Orange County and Northern San Diego County waste from $90 million to as much as $174 million a year in lost time and increased fuel costs. Reducing congestion will have a positive impact on annual fuel costs for motorists and improved productivity with less time spent commuting. Individual commuters will be able to save from $500 to $1,000 in fuel costs each year because of improved miles per gallon. In addition, even small changes in commuting speed will result in reduced carbon dioxide emissions, volatile organic compounds and particulates, according to estimates from UCR.

The Urban Mobility Report¹ estimated the 2005 value of person time at $14.60 per hour, which is based on the value of time, rather than the average prevailing wage. Truck travel time is valued at $77.10 per hour. Based on as estimated 18,600 cars traveling one-way during peak hours and with a 1.25 occupancy factor, the cost of wasting a half hour of time each way during the daily commute, 250 days a year would be $84.9 million.

Tom Margro, CEO of the TCA said completed the 241 will relieve traffic and wasted time on Interstate 5 in South Orange County by providing an alternative route.

“Without the toll road, travel from the San Diego/Orange County border to Mission Viejo will take one hour in 2025,” Margro said. “With the toll road constructed, the same drive on Interstate 5 will take 25 minutes and just 16 minutes on the toll road. This reduced congestion and increased speed will save freeway and toll road drivers time and money. The new road will reduce traffic on I-5 for the hundreds of thousands of motorists a day who travel between San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles Counties. It’s clearly a benefit to everyone who drives in the region in time and money saved, and reduced stress in commuting.”

SAVING TIME AND SAVING MONEY
Based on U.S. Department of Transportation data, the value of time savings could range between $20 and $30 per vehicle hour (USDOT, Departmental Guidance for the Valuation of Travel Time in Economic Analysis, April 9, 1997, revised February 11, 2003). Using the same basic assumptions on cars and occupancy factors, congestion on I-5 costs drivers from $116.2 million to $174.3 million in wasted time each year.

Individual drivers stuck in congestion on I-5 at $14.60 per hour based on the Urban Mobility Report estimate and 250 days of commuting waste $3,650 in time each year.  The number jumps to $5,000 for the individual at $20 an hour and $7,500 at $30 an hour using the DOT statistics.

LESS STOP AND GO TRAFFIC MEANS MORE MILES PER GALLON
Beyond lost time, drivers face major increases in annual fuel costs from being stuck in traffic congestion and suffering lower miles per gallon. For the driver with a daily commute of 20 miles round trip, annual fuel costs go up $533 based on $4 a gallon gasoline and reduced miles per gallon from 25 to 15, resulting in a jump from purchasing 200 gallons a year for commuting to 333. For the 30 mile daily commuter, annual costs go up $800 (300 to 500 gallons). For the 40-mile commuter, the annual costs jump $1,067 (400 to 667 gallons).

The Urban Mobility Report covered peak period travelers from 6 to 10 in the morning and 3 to 7 in the afternoon. Southern California collectively has the worst congestion in the country.

The UBR reported that travel during peak times is congested 86 percent of the time in the Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Santa Ana urban area, 85 percent in San Diego and 78 percent in Riverside. It uses a Roadway Congestion Index to measure both intensity and duration of the congestion on both arterial streets and freeways. The resulting ratio indicates an undesirable level of congestion if the value is greater than 1.0.

The proposed route for the 241 extension is designed to be sensitive to the environment, endangered habitats, parks and beaches, as validated in independent studies.

“Completing this final link in our regional transportation system will reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions and create long-term benefits for the millions of Southern California drivers,” Margro said. “The positive impact on our quality of life and the air we breathe underscores the value of completing the 241.”

REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMMISSIONS
Studies by the Bureau of Transportation Economics, Commonwealth of Australia, reported that congestion imposes “significant costs on society.” The cost of congestion is the estimated value of the excess travel time and other resource costs (such as extra fuel use) incurred by the actual traffic versus free flow traffic conditions. Congestion is a major contributor to vehicle emissions, the BTE reported. Fuel consumption per vehicle under congested traffic conditions “is approximately twice that under free-flow conditions,” the BTE reported.

“Therefore, congestion has the potential to double the output of greenhouse gas emissions from a stream of vehicle traffic,” according to the BTE. “Emission rates of noxious pollutants (e.g. carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, particulates) also tend to be approximately twice as high during congested conditions.”

FREE-FLOWING HIGHWAY TRAFFIC RESULTS IN LESS CO2 EMMISSIONS
The findings are validated in a study from the University of California Riverside titled “Real-World CO2 Impacts of Traffic Congestion,” coauthored by Matthew Barth and Kanok Boriboonsomsin, of the College of Engineering, Center for Environmental Research and Technology. The study notes that transportation plays a significant role in carbon dioxide emissions, accounting for approximately one-third of the United States’ inventory.

“In order to reduce CO2 emissions in the future, transportation policy makers are looking to make vehicles more efficient and increasing the use of carbon-neutral alternative fuels. In addition, CO2 can be lowered by improving traffic operations, specifically through the reduction of traffic congestion,” notes the UCR report.

The report noted that emissions are highly dependent upon speed. “In general, whenever congestion brings the average vehicle speed below 45 miles per hour (for a freeway scenario), there is a negative net impact on CO2 emissions. Vehicles spend more time on the road, which results in higher emissions. Therefore, in this scenario, reducing congestion will reduce CO2 emissions.

Even a small change in average traffic speeds can result in a strong change in CO2 emissions. “Overall, the speed changes of 2.5 mph, 5 mph and 10 mph can provide CO2 benefits up to 25 percent, 45 percent and 70 percent respectively,” the report says.

ABOUT COMPLETION OF THE 241
Extending the 241 will relieve traffic on Interstate 5 in South Orange County by providing an alternative route. With construction of the toll road, two miles of Interstate 5 will be retrofitted to collect and treat runoff, improving water quality in the Trestles area. Without the toll road, travel from the San Diego/Orange County border to Mission Viejo will take one hour in 2025. With the toll road constructed, the same drive on Interstate 5 will take 25 minutes and it will take 16 minutes on the toll road. The new road will provide an alternative to Interstate 5 for the hundreds of thousands of motorists a day who travel between San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles Counties.

¹2007 Urban Mobility Report, Texas Transportation Institute