ALDOT Statewide TSMO Program Plan ALDOT Statewide TSMO Program Plan 20190522REV | Page 9

3.1.2 Mobility and Reliability
Alabama’s mobility challenges impact freight
movement, commuting workers, the delivery of goods
and services, and the public. Congestion is impacted by
both recurring and non-recurring events. Recurring
congestion accounts for more than half of congestion
nationally and typically occurs during peak travel
periods due to demand exceeding capacity (FHWA,
2017). Non-recurring events account for the remaining
contributors to congestion and include disruptions such
as severe weather, traffic incidents, and work zones.
Nationally, the three main causes of non-recurring
congestion are traffic incidents (25% of total
congestion), work zones (10% of total congestion), and
weather (15% of total congestion) as illustrated in Figure
3 (FHWA, 2017).
Congestion continues to increase annually as the
increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) outpaces the
growth of public road mileage (TTI, 2015). VMT in Figure 3: National Sources of Congestion
Alabama is increasing at a greater rate than public road (FHWA, 2017)
mileage length for the state. Travel demand is
outstripping the supply despite a focus on increasing capacity through infrastructure projects. In Alabama
over the last sixteen years, VMT has grown 23% while public road mileage has only grown by 8%.
Birmingham, Huntsville,
Mobile, and Montgomery
commuters spend an
average of 34, 23, 30, and
24 hours per year, stuck
in traffic.
Congestion on roadways costs commuters, freight drivers,
service providers, and the public time and money. In 2014,
congestion cost Americans $160 billion (TTI, 2015). Studies
indicate that drivers in the urban areas of Birmingham,
Huntsville, Mobile, and Montgomery spend 34, 23, 30, and 24
hours per year, stuck in traffic, respectively (TTI, 2015).
Nationally, congestion caused an extra 6.9 billion hours of
travel in 2014 which resulted in a cost of $960 to the average
commuter in 2014 (TTI, 2015).
Likewise, congestion is a significant problem for freight industry nationally and specifically, Alabama. The
value of freight flow in Alabama was 386.6 billion in 2013 with 531.5 million tons of freight flow and 189.9
billion miles of freight flow (BTS, 2015). Alabama has two major water ports, Guntersville and Mobile,
which includes ports ranked in the top 150 ports by tonnage in 2013 and has nine major airports (BTS,
2015). National truck operations experienced 18% (or $28 billion cost) of the congestion delay in 2014
(TTI, 2015). Not surprisingly, a goal of the 2017 Alabama Statewide Freight Plan is to reduce congestion
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