According to a new report, Wisconsin drivers spent more than 7 million hours in traffic jams last year — delays that are both frustrating and cost millions of dollars.
Though Wisconsinites spent less time stuck in traffic this spring than last one, the numbers are still staggering and come with a price tag of more than $226 million, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Those numbers were included in the department’s first-ever “Travel Time and Reliability Delay” report. In that report, the DOT also found that eight of every 20 Milwaukee area freeway segments are so congested that drivers need twice as much time as it normally would to complete their trips.
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Neal Kedzie, the president of the Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association, said these delays could cost consumers more in the long run.
“We are going to see an increase in the cost of products as we purchase them as a result of this, and it can’t just be blamed on rising fuel costs,” said Kedzie.
The DOT says it is studying potential improvements on two of the biggest problem areas: Interstate 94 between the Marquette Interchange and the Zoo Interchange, and Interstate 43 between Silver Spring Drive and Highway 60.
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