Traffic is wasting your cash

Sick of wasting time in traffic? Worried about spending too much money on gasoline? According to a study released today, you've got cause — especially if you live along the Wasatch Front.

The study by The Road Information Program (TRIP) shows that Utah motorists are wasting up to 76 hours and 56 gallons of fuel annually, just sitting in traffic. And depending what roads you use, the numbers go even higher. Traffic congestion costs Utah drivers as much as $1,275 a year in wasted time and fuel.

Over the past few months, TRIP looked at data from state and federal agencies, as well as research and planning groups, to complete the study that lists the 25 most-congested roads in Utah. For each of those roads, the study estimated how much time and money people waste while stuck in traffic.

"Commuters are losing a lot of time and wasting money because of growing traffic congestion," said Frank Moretti, spokesman for TRIP, a transportation-research group based in Washington, D.C.

Utah County had 14 of the 25 most congested roads, while Salt Lake County had eight of them, according to the study.

The most expensive route to drive is I-15 in Utah County, from Orem's University Parkway to 1600 North, the study showed. Motorists using that route spend $1,275 each year on traffic delays. Drivers there lose about 76 hours of time annually in traffic and waste about 56 gallons of fuel.

Other costly routes include Sunset Boulevard in Washington County, with an estimated $719 a year spent on delays. In Salt Lake County, motorists on the section of 7800 South from 2700 West to the Bangerter Highway waste about $926 annually. And drivers using Lehi's Main Street in Utah County waste about $757 a year, according to the study.

Chad Eccles, a transportation planner with the Mountainland Association of Governments, said Tuesday that it wasn't surprising to him that Utah County had a majority of the state's most congested roads.

"The population has grown so quickly here, and the level of investment in terms of capacity hasn't been made," Eccles said. "We have a lot of needs down here, and we know that. I think it's becoming a bigger realization for people to see that Utah County has capacity issues."

Several studies to expand and build new roads are now being done in Utah County. The Utah Department of Transportation is about halfway finished with studies of I-15 and the proposed Mountain View Corridor. The I-15 study, which looks at a possible expansion of the road, also includes a portion about building commuter rail in the county.