WSDOT releases 2014 Corridor Capacity Report

OLYMPIA – Building on its continuing efforts to improve safety and reduce traffic congestion, the Washington State Department of Transportation released the annual Corridor Capacity Report this week.

The report reflects WSDOT’s partnerships with transit agencies, state agencies, and metropolitan and regional planning organizations to develop analysis of multimodal-system performance. This framework informs all partners how travelers can use the transportation system’s remaining capacity to decrease congestion and improve overall efficiency on highways throughout the state.

“This report is a practical tool for understanding how the highway system performs, and for identifying possible multimodal solutions,” said Daniela Bremmer, WSDOT director of strategic assessment and performance analysis. “It’s designed to help planners and engineers determine where unused capacity may exist, and to share relevant performance information with our partners and the public.” 

The Corridor Capacity Report highlights performance on transit, greenhouse-gas emissions and ferries, as well as updates on vehicle-miles traveled, statewide vehicle delay on highways and interstates, and the cost of this delay to Washingtonians. Some of the key findings include:

• Statewide congestion increased 1.5 percent between 2011 and 2013—from 31.97 million to 32.45 million hours of annual vehicle delay—mirroring the state’s improving economy.
• In 2013, an average person experienced about five hours of congestion, roughly the same amount of extra time spent delayed in traffic as in 2011.
• Delay on state highways cost drivers and businesses $858 million in 2013 compared to $845 million in 2011. This equates to about $125 per person, both in 2011 and 2013.
• There were 1,506 transit vehicles in service during peak travel periods in 2013. Of these, 570 were 90 percent full on a daily basis.
• About 102,400 commuters used express-transit service daily in 2013, more than twice the capacity of Seattle’s Safeco Field. This helped reduce 1.03 million miles of solo-vehicle travel and 873,000 pounds of greenhouse-gas emissions. 
• The WSDOT Ferries Division made more than 162,000 sailings, 95.6 percent of which departed on time. Annual ridership was 22.5 million in 2013.

The 2014 annual report continues WSDOT’s system performance evaluation and includes two new companion documents: the first edition of the Handbook for Corridor Capacity Evaluation (a detailed methodology report), and a data appendixcovering detailed performance measures in the form of tables, charts and additional graphics on all commute routes. In addition to these reports, WSDOT also publishes annual updates on other multimodal options such as aviation, freight, and bicycle and pedestrian travel.