Portions of Mesa & I-10 make TxDOT’s list of 100 most congested roadways

Part of Mesa and an El Paso stretch of I-10 were two of the 100 most congested roadways in Texas in 2016, according to a TxDOT report.

“What drivers can do is avoid I-10 during peak hours, if at all possible, or use alternate roadway measures. What we can do is add capacity,” said Bob Bielek, a district engineer for TxDOT in El Paso.

The report showed being stuck on Mesa, from I-10 to Executive, cost drivers $16.61 million from August 2015 to August 2016.

Being stuck on I-10 in between Hawkins and Lee Trevino cost drivers $19.56 million, the report further states.

The figure comes from adding up the time spent by people in traffic, how much an average person’s hour is worth, along with the cost of wear and tear, and gasoline.

Bielek explained the same $20 million it costs people to be stuck in traffic is what it would cost TxDOT to add one lane for one mile to I-10, but he explained the lane would be a better, anc cheaper, investment.

“As Texas grows and we get more demand on I-10, those numbers are going to go up. As inflation increases, as the cost of fuel increases, the value of an hour of a driver’s time or a trucker’s time, those numbers are going to go up” Bielek said.

Bielek also explained projects as large as adding interstate highway lanes is a process that takes years to complete, and not something that can be done quickly.