road travel problems today

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The Roadway Safety Problem

Our nation's roadway safety crisis.

Explore interactive data visualizations to learn about the significant impact of motor vehicle deaths in our communities and where progress is being made in eliminating roadway deaths.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com

Almost 95% of people who die using our Nation’s transportation networks are killed on our streets, roads, and highways, and this threat to our safety is getting worse. Read the National Roadway Safety Strategy to learn about what U.S. DOT is doing to address this crisis.

More than 370,000 people died in transportation incidents over the last decade (2011-2020) in the United States. More than 350,000 of them died on our roads.

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

In 2021, 42,939 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes, of which 7,388 were people walking. Millions more are injured – sometimes permanently – each year. 

Roadway fatalities and the fatality rate declined consistently for 30 years, but progress has stalled over the last decade and went in the wrong direction in 2020 and 2021.

Source: Fatality Analysis Reporting System

Traffic crashes are a leading cause of death for teenagers in America, and disproportionately impact people who are Black and American Indian. The rate of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled has not substantially improved over the last 10 years, and increased significantly in 2020 before remaining stable in 2021.

42,939 people died on America’s roads in 2021 1

Compared to 2020, fatalities increased:

• 10.1% overall. 42,939 lives were lost, the highest total number recorded since 2005
• 14% on urban roads
• 14% among drivers ages 65 and older
• 12.5% among people walking, totaling 7,388 lives lost, the highest recorded in decades
• 17% among fatal crashes involving at least one large truck
• 8% among motorcyclists, totaling 5,932 lives lost, the highest total ever recorded

1 NHTSA:  Overview of Motor Vehicle Crash Traffic Crashes in 2021

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Traffic Reports and Road Conditions Across The USA

We monitor various state agencies and report on breaking news, project updates, events, surveys, policy, advisories, blogs, & more. We provide information for you to make good travel decisions before you get into your vehicle, and while you are traveling. Stay connected with HighwayNavigator for all the latest news and travel information, including up-to-the minute details on congestion, accidents, road/lane closures, construction projects and maintenance operations.

Traffic: Why It’s Getting Worse, What Government Can Do

Subscribe to the brookings metro update, anthony downs anthony downs former brookings expert.

January 1, 2004

• 17 min read
• Introduction

The Real Problem

Coping with the mobility problem, the principle of triple convergence, triple convergence and other proposals, how population growth can swamp transportation capacity, low-density settlements, possible improvements.

Rising traffic congestion is an inescapable condition in large and growing metropolitan areas across the world, from Los Angeles to Tokyo, from Cairo to Sao Paolo. Peak-hour traffic congestion is an inherent result of the way modern societies operate. It stems from the widespread desires of people to pursue certain goals that inevitably overload existing roads and transit systems every day. But everyone hates traffic congestion, and it keeps getting worse, in spite of attempted remedies.

Commuters are often frustrated by policymakers’ inability to do anything about the problem, which poses a significant public policy challenge. Although governments may never be able to eliminate road congestion, there are several ways cities and states can move to curb it.

POLICY BRIEF #128

Traffic congestion is not primarily a problem, but rather the solution to our basic mobility problem, which is that too many people want to move at the same times each day. Why? Because efficient operation of both the economy and school systems requires that people work, go to school, and even run errands during about the same hours so they can interact with each other. That basic requirement cannot be altered without crippling our economy and society. The same problem exists in every major metropolitan area in the world.

In the United States, the vast majority of people seeking to move during rush hours use private automotive vehicles, for two reasons. One is that most Americans reside in low-density areas that public transit cannot efficiently serve. The second is that privately owned vehicles are more comfortable, faster, more private, more convenient in trip timing, and more flexible for doing multiple tasks on one trip than almost any form of public transit. As household incomes rise around the world, more and more people shift from slower, less expensive modes of movement to privately owned cars and trucks.

With 87.9 percent of America’s daily commuters using private vehicles, and millions wanting to move at the same times of day, America’s basic problem is that its road system does not have the capacity to handle peak-hour loads without forcing many people to wait in line for that limited road space. Waiting in line is the definition of congestion, and the same condition is found in all growing major metropolitan regions. In fact, traffic congestion is worse in most other countries because American roads are so much better.

Back to top

There are four ways any region can try to cope with the mobility challenge. But three of them are politically impractical or physically and financially impossible in the United States.

Charging peak-hour tolls. Governments can charge people money to enter all the lanes on major commuting roads during peak hours. If tolls were set high enough and collected electronically with “smart cards,” the number of vehicles on each major road during peak hours could be reduced enough so that vehicles could move at high speeds. That would allow more people to travel per lane per hour than under current, heavily congested conditions.

Transportation economists have long been proponents of this tactic, but most Americans reject this solution politically for two reasons. Tolls would favor wealthier or subsidized drivers and harm poor ones, so most Americans would resent them, partly because they believe they would be at a disadvantage.

The second drawback is that people think these tolls would be just another tax, forcing them to pay for something they have already paid for through gasoline taxes. For both these reasons, few politicians in our democracy—and so far, anywhere else in the world—advocate this tactic. Limited road-pricing schemes that have been adopted in Singapore, Norway, and London only affect congestion in crowded downtowns, which is not the kind of congestion on major arteries that most Americans experience.

Greatly expanding road capacity. The second approach would be to build enough road capacity to handle all drivers who want to travel in peak hours at the same time without delays. But this “cure” is totally impractical and prohibitively expensive. Governments would have to widen all major commuting roads by demolishing millions of buildings, cutting down trees, and turning most of every metropolitan region into a giant concrete slab. Those roads would then be grossly underutilized during non-peak hours. There are many occasions when adding more road capacity is a good idea, but no large region can afford to build enough to completely eliminate peak-hour congestion.

Greatly expanding public transit capacity. The third approach would be to expand public transit capacity enough to shift so many people from cars to transit that there would be no more excess demand for roads during peak hours. But in the United States in 2000, only 4.7 percent of all commuters traveled by public transit. (Outside of New York City, only 3.5 percent use transit and 89.3 percent use private vehicles.) A major reason is that most transit commuting is concentrated in a few large, densely settled regions with extensive fixed-rail transit systems. The nine U.S. metropolitan areas with the most daily transit commuters, when taken together, account for 61 percent of all U.S. transit commuting, though they contain only 17 percent of the total population. Within those regions, transit commuters are 17 percent of all commuters, but elsewhere, transit carries only 2.4 percent of all commuters, and less than one percent in many low-density regions.

Even if America’s existing transit capacity were tripled and fully utilized, morning peak-hour transit travel would rise to 11.0 percent of all morning trips. But that would reduce all morning private vehicle trips by only 8.0 percent—certainly progress, but hardly enough to end congestion—and tripling public transit capacity would be extremely costly. There are many good reasons to expand the nation’s public transit systems to aid mobility, but doing so will not notably reduce either existing or future peak-hour traffic congestion.

Living with congestion. This is the sole viable option. The only feasible way to accommodate excess demand for roads during peak periods is to have people wait in line. That means traffic congestion, which is an absolutely essential mechanism for American regions—and most other metropolitan regions throughout the world—to cope with excess demands for road space during peak hours each day.

Although congestion can seem intolerable, the alternatives would be even worse. Peak-hour congestion is the balancing mechanism that makes it possible for Americans to pursue other goals they value, including working or sending their children to school at the same time as their peers, living in low-density settlements, and having a wide choice of places to live and work.

The least understood aspect of peak-hour traffic congestion is the principle of triple convergence, which I discussed in the original version of Stuck in Traffic (Brookings/Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 1992). This phenomenon occurs because traffic flows in any region’s overall transportation networks form almost automatically self-adjusting relationships among different routes, times, and modes. For example, a major commuting expressway might be so heavily congested each morning that traffic crawls for at least thirty minutes. If that expressway’s capacity were doubled overnight, the next day’s traffic would flow rapidly because the same number of drivers would have twice as much road space. But soon word would spread that this particular highway was no longer congested. Drivers who had once used that road before and after the peak hour to avoid congestion would shift back into the peak period. Other drivers who had been using alternative routes would shift onto this more convenient expressway. Even some commuters who had been using the subway or trains would start driving on this road during peak periods. Within a short time, this triple convergence onto the expanded road during peak hours would make the road as congested as it was before its expansion.

Experience shows that if a road is part of a larger transportation network within a region, peak-hour congestion cannot be eliminated for long on a congested road by expanding that road’s capacity.

The triple convergence principle does not mean that expanding a congested road’s capacity has no benefits. After expansion, the road can carry more vehicles per hour than before, no matter how congested it is, so more people can travel on it during those more desirable periods. Also, the periods of maximum congestion may be shorter, and congestion on alternative routes may be lower. Those are all benefits, but that road will still experience some period of maximum congestion daily.

Triple convergence affects the practicality of other suggested remedies to traffic congestion. An example is staggered work hours. In theory, if a certain number of workers are able to commute during less crowded parts of the day, that will free up space on formerly congested roads. But once traffic moves faster on those roads during peak hours, that will attract other drivers from other routes, other times, and other modes where conditions have not changed to shift onto the improved roads. Soon the removal of the staggered-working-hour drivers will be fully offset by convergence.

The same thing will happen if more workers become telecommuters and work at home, or if public transit capacity is expanded on off-road routes that parallel a congested expressway. This is why building light rail systems or even new subways rarely reduces peak-hour traffic congestion. In Portland, where the light rail system doubled in size in the 1990s, and in Dallas, where a new light rail system opened, congestion did not decline for long after these systems were up and running. Only road pricing or higher gasoline taxes are exempt from the principle of triple convergence.

A ground transportation system’s equilibria can also be affected by big changes in the region’s population or economic activity. If a region’s population is growing rapidly, as in Southern California or Florida, any expansions of major expressway capacity may soon be swamped by more vehicles generated by the added population. This result is strengthened because America’s vehicle population has been increasing even faster than its human population. From 1980 to 2000, 1.2 more automotive vehicles were added to the vehicle population of the United States for every 1.0 person added to the human population (though this ratio declined to 1 to 1 in the 1990s). The nation’s human population is expected to grow by around 60 million by 2020—possibly adding another 60 million vehicles to our national stock. That is why prospects for reducing peak-hour traffic congestion in the future are dim indeed.

Shifts in economic activity also affect regional congestion. During the internet and telecommunications boom of the late 1990s, congestion in the San Francisco Bay Area intensified immensely. After the economic “bubble” burst in 2000, congestion fell markedly without any major change in population. Thus, severe congestion can be a sign of strong regional prosperity, just as reduced congestion can signal an economic downturn.

The most obvious reason traffic congestion has increased everywhere is population growth. In a wealthy nation, more people means more vehicles. But total vehicle mileage traveled has grown much faster than population. From 1980 to 2000, the total population of the United States rose 24 percent, but total vehicle miles traveled grew 80 percent because of more intensive use of each vehicle. The number of vehicles per 1,000 persons rose 14 percent and the number of miles driven per vehicle rose 24 percent. Even without any population gain in those two decades, miles driven would have risen 47 percent.

One reason people drove their vehicles farther is that a combination of declining real gas prices (corrected for inflation) and more miles per gallon caused the real cost of each mile driven to fall 54 percent from 1980 to 2000. That helped raise the fraction of U.S. households owning cars from 86 percent in 1983 to 92 percent in 1995.

Furthermore, American road building lagged far behind increases in vehicle travel. Urban lane-miles rose by 37 percent versus an 80 percent increase in miles traveled. As a result, the amount of daily traffic that was congested in the 75 areas analyzed in studies by the Texas Transportation Institute went from 16 percent in 1982 to 34 percent in 2001.

Another factor in road congestion is accidents and incidents, which some experts believe cause half of all traffic congestion. From 1980 to 2000, the absolute number of accidents each year has remained amazingly constant, and the annual number of traffic deaths in the United States fell 18 percent, in spite of the great rise in vehicle miles traveled. So accidents could only have caused more congestion because roads were more crowded, and each accident may now cause longer back-ups than before.

Incidents are non-accident causes of delay, such as stalled cars, road repairs, overturned vehicles, and bad weather. No one knows how many incidents occur, but it is a much greater number than accidents. And the number of incidents probably rises along with total driving. So that could have added to greater congestion, and will in the future.

Another crucial factor contributing to traffic congestion is the desire of most Americans to live in low-density settlements. In 1999, the National Association of Homebuilders asked 2,000 randomly-selected households whether they would rather buy a $150,000 townhouse in an urban setting that was close to public transportation, work, and shopping or a larger, detached single-family home in an outlying suburban area, where distances to work, public transportation, and shopping were longer. Eighty-three percent of respondents chose the larger, farther-out suburban home. At the same time, new workplaces have been spreading out in low-density areas in most metropolitan regions.

Past studies, including one published in 1977 by Boris S. Pushkarev and Jeffery M. Zupan, have shown that public transit works best where gross residential densities are above 4,200 persons per square mile; relatively dense housing is clustered close to transit stations or stops; and large numbers of jobs are concentrated in relatively compact business districts.

But in 2000, at least two thirds of all residents of U.S. urbanized areas lived in settlements with densities of under 4,000 persons per square mile. Those densities are too low for public transit to be effective. Hence their residents are compelled to rely on private vehicles for almost all of their travel, including trips during peak hours.

Recognizing this situation, many opponents of “sprawl” call for strong urban growth boundaries to constrain future growth into more compact, higher-density patterns, including greater reinvestment and increased densities in existing neighborhoods. But most residents of those neighborhoods vehemently oppose raising densities, and most American regions already have densities far too low to support much public transit. So this strategy would not reduce future traffic congestion much.

While it’s practically impossible to eliminate congestion, there are several ways to slow its future rate of increase:

Create High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. Peak-hour road pricing would not be politically feasible if policymakers put tolls on all major commuter lanes, but HOT lanes can increase traveler choices by adding new toll lanes to existing expressways, or converting underused high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to HOT lanes, and leaving present conventional lanes without tolls. True, HOT lanes do not eliminate congestion. But they allow anyone who needs to move fast on any given day to do so, without forcing all low-income drivers off those same roads during peak periods. In some regions, whole networks of HOT lanes could both add to overall capacity and make high-speed choices always available to thousands of people in a hurry.

Respond more rapidly to traffic-blocking accidents and incidents. Removing accidents and incidents from major roads faster by using roving service vehicles run by government-run Traffic Management Centers equipped with television and electronic surveillance of road conditions is an excellent tactic for reducing congestion delays.

Build more roads in growing areas. Opponents of building more roads claim that we cannot build our way out of congestion because more highway capacity will simply attract more travelers. Due to triple convergence, that criticism is true for established roads that are already overcrowded. But the large projected growth of the U.S. population surely means that we will need a lot more road and lane mileage in peripheral areas.

Install ramp-metering. This means letting vehicles enter expressways only gradually. It has improved freeway speed during peak hours in both Seattle and the Twin Cities, and could be much more widely used.

Use Intelligent Transportation System devices to speed traffic flows. These devices include electronic coordination of signal lights on local streets, large variable signs informing drivers of traffic conditions ahead, one-way street patterns, Global Positioning System equipment in cars and trucks, and radio broadcasts of current road conditions. These technologies exist now and can be effective on local streets and arteries and informative on expressways.

Create more HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes. HOV lanes have proven successful in many areas such as Houston. More regions could use HOV lanes effectively if there were more lanes built for that purpose, rather than trying to convert existing ones. Merely converting existing lanes would reduce overall road capacity.

Adopt “parking cash-out” programs. Demonstration programs have shown that if firms offer to pay persons now receiving free employee parking a stipend for shifting to carpooling or transit, significant percentages will do so. That could reduce the number of cars on the road. However, this tactic does not prevent the offsetting consequences of triple convergence.

Restrict very low-density peripheral development. Urban growth boundaries that severely constrain all far-out suburban development will not reduce future congestion much, especially in fast-growing regions. And such boundaries may drive up peripheral housing prices. But requiring at least moderate residential densities—say, 3,500 persons per square mile (4.38 units per net acre)—in new growth areas could greatly reduce peripheral driving, compared to permitting very low densities there, which tend to push growth out ever farther. In 2000, thirty-six urbanized areas had fringe area densities of 3,500 or more. Those thirty-six urbanized areas contained 18.2 percent of all persons living in all 476 U.S. urbanized areas.

Cluster high-density housing around transit stops. Such Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) would permit more residents to commute by walking to transit, thereby decreasing the number of private vehicles on the roads. However, the potential of this tactic is limited. In order to shift a significant percentage of auto commuters to transit, the number of such “transit circles” within each region would have to be very large, the density within each circle would have to be much greater than the average central city density in America’s fifty largest urbanized areas, and the percentage of workers living in the TODs who commuted by transit would have to greatly exceed the 10.5 percent average for central cities in 2000. Even so, developing many of these high-density clusters might make public transit service more feasible to many more parts of large regions.

Give regional transportation authorities more power and resources. Congress has created Metropolitan Planning Organizations to coordinate ground transportation planning over all modes in each region. If these were given more technical assistance and power, more rational systems could be created. Without much more regionally focused planning over land uses as well as transportation, few anti-congestion tactics will work effectively.

Raise gasoline taxes. Raising gas taxes would notably slow the rate of increase of all automotive travel, not just peak-hour commuting. But Congress has refused to consider it because it is politically unpopular and fought by industry lobbyists. Despite Americans’ vocal complaints about congestion, they do not want to pay much to combat it.

Peak-hour traffic congestion in almost all large and growing metropolitan regions around the world is here to stay. In fact, it is almost certain to get worse during at least the next few decades, mainly because of rising populations and wealth. This will be true no matter what public and private policies are adopted to combat congestion.

But this outcome should not be regarded as a mark of social failure or misguided policies. In fact, traffic congestion often results from economic prosperity and other types of success.

Although traffic congestion is inevitable, there are ways to slow the rate at which it intensifies. Several tactics could do that effectively, especially if used in concert, but nothing can eliminate peak-hour traffic congestion from large metropolitan regions here and around the world. Only serious economic recessions—which are hardly desirable—can even forestall an increase.

For the time being, the only relief for traffic-plagued commuters is a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle with a well-equipped stereo system, a hands-free telephone, and a daily commute with someone they like.

Congestion has become part of commuters’ daily leisure time, and it promises to stay that way.

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Heavy snowfall hits Moscow as Russian media report disruption on roads and at airports

A man walks down a street during heavy snowfall in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. A record snowfall has hit Russia’s capital bringing an additional 10 cm (3,9 inches) to already high levels of snow and causing disruption at the capital’s airports and on roads. (Denis Voronin/Moscow News Agency via AP)

Municipal workers clear snow from the sidewalks and a road after heavy snowfall in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. A record snowfall has hit Russia’s capital bringing an additional 10 cm (3,9 inches) to already high levels of snow and causing disruption at the capital’s airports and on roads. (Denis Voronin)/Moscow News Agency via AP)

Municipal workers clear snow from the sidewalks after heavy snowfall in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. A record snowfall has hit Russia’s capital bringing an additional 10 cm (3,9 inches) to already high levels of snow and causing disruption at the capital’s airports and on roads. (Vasily Kuzmichenok/Moscow News Agency via AP)

Russian Rosguardia (National Guard) servicemen walk at VDNKh, The Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy during heavy snowfall in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. A record snowfall has hit Russia’s capital bringing an additional 10 cm (3,9 inches) to already high levels of snow and causing disruption at the capital’s airports and on roads. (Sergei Kiselev/Moscow News Agency via AP)

A woman rides a pony in a park during heavy snowfall in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. A record snowfall has hit Russia’s capital bringing an additional 10 cm (3,9 inches) to already high levels of snow and causing disruption at the capital’s airports and on roads. (Arthur Novosiltsev/Moscow News Agency via AP)

People swim in ice water celebrating opening of the 65th winter swimming season of the Moscow Walrus Club in Serebryany Bor during heavy snowfall in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. A record snowfall has hit Russia’s capital bringing an additional 10 cm to already high levels of snow and causing disruption at the capital’s airports and on roads. (Pelagia Tikhonova/Moscow News Agency via AP)

A young woman swims in ice water celebrating opening of the 65th winter swimming season of the Moscow Walrus Club in Serebryany Bor during heavy snowfall in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. A record snowfall has hit Russia’s capital bringing an additional 10 cm to already high levels of snow and causing disruption at the capital’s airports and on roads. (Pelagia Tikhonova/Moscow News Agency via AP)

A woman walks down a street during heavy snowfall in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. A record snowfall has hit Russia’s capital bringing an additional 10 cm to already high levels of snow and causing disruption at the capital’s airports and on roads. (Sergei Vedyashkin/Moscow News Agency via AP)

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MOSCOW (AP) — Heavy snowfall has hit the Russian capital, disrupting traffic on roads and flights in and out of three Moscow airports, officials and media reported on Monday.

The snowfall that began Sunday and continued overnight has brought an additional 23 centimeters (nine inches) to already high levels of snow in Moscow, according to deputy mayor Pyotr Biryukov. About 135,000 people and 18,000 pieces of equipment were involved in the snow-clearing effort.

Nearly 200 trucks got stuck in the snow over the past 24 hours, and required assistance from road traffic workers, the Moscow transport department reported.

A total of 53 flights were delayed and five more were canceled on Monday morning in three out of four Moscow airports, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported. Most of the delays occurred at the Sheremetyevo airport north of the capital. The two airports to the south, Domodedovo and Vnukovo, also experienced delays, the report said. At the Zhukovsky airport southeast of the city, flights were departing from Moscow on schedule, according to Vedomosti.

Heavy snow, as well as temperatures below -50 C (-58 F), were also reported in the Siberian region of Yakutia. In the neighboring region of Magadan, similar temperatures were expected in the coming days.

Bellmawr police say 'investigation' caused traffic slowdowns in South Jersey

BELLMAWR — A police incident snarled traffic in several South Jersey towns on Thursday afternoon and evening.

Bellmawr police announced around 5 p.m. that an unspecified "investigation" was ongoing near Creek Road and Harding Avenue.

"There is no threat to the public," said a post at the police department's Facebook page.

An update around 9:30 p.m. said the incident had been "peacefully resolved" and thanked everyone for their patience.

Officials have not identified the cause of the problem, which began unfolding in mid-afternoon.

During the investigation, the police announcement cautioned motorists that they would "experience traffic delays if you are in the area of Creek Road and (West) Browning Road."

In fact, the traffic impact was felt as far away as the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Camden, with some motorists spending hours on jammed highways and hearing that other roadways were closed.

During the incident, a roadside sign warned motorists of "police activity" near Exit 14 of southbound Route 42.

Motorists on I-76 were told that all lanes to southbound 42 and 295 were closed. They were directed instead to northbound 295, said Lisa Harrison, a commuter from Woodbury Heights.

Reached by phone around 7:20 p.m., Harrison reported being stuck on I-76 for at least 90 minutes in the Camden-Gloucester City area.

“We’re literally just inching along little by little,” she said. “It’s so backed up that it took us forever to even get over the [Ben Franklin] bridge”

The ride home from her Philadelphia office, which usually takes about 30 to 40 minutes, lasted almost four hours on Thursday, she said.

Dangerous highways: Students from Stockton University, Washington Township High School die in separate crashes

The investigation was taking place in cooperation with New Jersey State Police, according to Bellmawr police.

A State Police spokesperson could not be reached, and additional details were not immediately available.

Staff writer Jim Walsh contributed to this report. This is a breaking news story. It will be updated.

Where could Ohio traffic be bad during the solar eclipse? See the map from ODOT

If you travel for the solar eclipse next month, you may be stuck in traffic for a while.

Officials expect 150,000 to 575,000 visitors when the total solar eclipse casts its shadow over Ohio on April 8. The 124-mile-wide path of totality  will cross the state from southwest to northeast, briefly blanketing cities like Dayton, Mansfield, Akron and Cleveland in darkness. Cincinnati and Columbus are just south of totality.

Your safety: Do eclipse glasses expire? Are my eclipse glasses safe? Ohio doctors offer tips

The total eclipse will last only a few minutes, but some of the state's major highways could be jammed for hours as people head home.

To help emergency responders prepare − and give visitors a preview of what could happen − the Ohio Department of Transportation created an interactive online map forecasting traffic that day.

ODOT spokesman Matt Bruning said the numbers predict possible demand, not the number of vehicles on the road: "The maps were trying to highlight potential areas of concern for safety agencies − not necessarily 'where to avoid' for the public."

More: How Ohio is planning for traffic jams during the April solar eclipse

When will eclipse traffic be the worst in Ohio? Where?

ODOT mapped out potential scenarios based on the number of visitors to Ohio: 150,000, 350,000, 575,000 and 625,000. Consultants crunched the numbers using anonymized cellphone location data for a typical day in Ohio and travel patterns in Kentucky and Tennessee during the 2017 eclipse.

The April 8 eclipse will begin in southwest Ohio around 3:08 p.m. and last fewer than four minutes, with the exact time depending on your location.

Southwest and central Ohio may experience some gridlock that morning, and all four models show demand increasing in the hours before the eclipse. But the real snarls are expected once it's over. The heaviest traffic appears in the forecast late afternoon and doesn't appear to ease up for hours.

Bruning said ODOT expects the worst congestion in northwest Ohio around Toledo and Findlay, the closest viewing spot for eclipse tourists from Michigan. Other areas that could be busier than normal include Interstate 71 and Interstate 270 in the Columbus area, Interstate 75 from Dayton to Cincinnati and Interstate 77 between Akron and Canton.

You can view ODOT’s forecasting map at bit.ly/ODOTeclipsemap .

How can I prepare for eclipse traffic in Ohio?

The biggest piece of advice: Be patient. Motorists should also keep their gas tank full; pack a cellphone charger, water and snacks; and have a paper map on hand in case cell service is bad.

State officials also recommend eclipse-watchers stay put afterward, instead of hitting the road once it's over. To that end, Ohio's tourism arm  is promoting other activities in the path of totality, from museums and parks to restaurants and breweries.

Ohioans who live within totality are encouraged to watch the eclipse  at or near home.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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How to travel around the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore: A look at the traffic impact and alternate routes

By Rohan Mattu

Updated on: April 4, 2024 / 8:10 AM EDT / CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE -- The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early on the morning of March 26  led to a major traffic impact for the region and cut off a major artery into and out of the port city. 

Drivers are told to prepare for extra commuting time until further notice.

Alternate routes after Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

Maryland transit authorities quickly put detours in place for those traveling through Dundalk or the Curtis Bay/Hawkins Point side of the bridge. The estimated 31,000 who travel the bridge every day will need to find a new route for the foreseeable future. 

The outer loop I-695 closure shifted to exit 1/Quarantine Road (past the Curtis Creek Drawbridge) to allow for enhanced local traffic access. 

The inner loop of I-695 remains closed at MD 157 (Peninsula Expressway). Additionally, the ramp from MD 157 to the inner loop of I-695 will be closed. 

Alternate routes are I-95 (Fort McHenry Tunnel) or I-895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel) for north/south routes. 

Commercial vehicles carrying materials that are prohibited in the tunnel crossings, including recreation vehicles carrying propane, should plan on using I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) between Essex and Glen Burnie. This will add significant driving time.    

Where is the Francis Scott Key Bridge? 

The Key Bridge crosses the Patapsco River, a key waterway that along with the Port of Baltimore serves as a hub for East Coast shipping. 

The bridge is the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore's Harbor and the final link in Interstate 695, known in the region as the Baltimore Beltway, which links Baltimore and Washington, D.C. 

The bridge was built after the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel reached capacity and experienced heavy congestion almost daily, according to the MDTA. 

Tractor-trailer inspections

Tractor-trailers that now have clearance to use the tunnels will need to be checked for hazardous materials, which are not permitted in tunnels, and that could further hold up traffic. 

The MDTA says vehicles carrying bottled propane gas over 10 pounds per container (maximum of 10 containers), bulk gasoline, explosives, significant amounts of radioactive materials, and other hazardous materials are prohibited from using the Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95) or the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895).  

Any vehicles transporting hazardous materials should use the western section of I-695 around the tunnels, officials said. 

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Rohan Mattu is a digital producer at CBS News Baltimore. Rohan graduated from Towson University in 2020 with a degree in journalism and previously wrote for WDVM-TV in Hagerstown. He maintains WJZ's website and social media, which includes breaking news in everything from politics to sports.

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Solar eclipse warnings pile up: Watch out for danger in the sky, on the ground on April 8

Editor's note: An updated cloud forecast for the April 2024 total solar eclipse is in. Read the latest eclipse forecast and news as of Wednesday, April 3 .

The upcoming solar eclipse , as exciting and fun as it promises to be, is also coming with a growing number of safety warnings — both for what will happen in the sky and what will happen on the ground.

In late March, we've heard warnings about potentially dangerous fake eclipse glasses , the possibility for increased car c rashes around the time of the eclipse and possible air travel headaches due to delayed or cancelled flights.

Safety is always a concern around solar eclipses, when millions of people will look to the sky as the moon passes in front of the sun. Looking at the spectacular event requires special glasses to prevent eye damage . Plus, tourists from around the country will be flocking to a narrow band of land from Texas to Maine — the path of totality, where the shadow of the moon will plunge the Earth into darkness.

Warning issued about fake eclipse glasses

"Counterfeit and fake eclipse glasses are polluting the marketplace," the American Astronomical Society announced in a statement in late March.

Using fake eclipse glasses – or no glasses at all – to look at the eclipse is dangerous to your eyes: Overexposure to sunlight "can cause severe eye injury, ranging from temporarily impaired vision to permanent blindness," the AAS said. They recommend buying from a vetted vendor and testing the glasses before the eclipse.

Here's how to tell if your glasses are legit.

It's also worth noting that you may be able to score a free pair of eclipse glasses .

Bad traffic and deadly traffic accidents

Traffic is predicted to be bad and potentially deadly —  especially after the eclipse ends . Millions of people will crowd into the narrow path of totality, then most will attempt to leave all at once as soon as the eclipse is over.

Experts warn the excitement could create dangerous and busy automobile traffic conditions as people pack into the small part of the country with the best view.

Roads could be especially packed at the  center of the eclipse's path  as Americans who  want the best view  crowd into cities, towns and remote areas, many without the infrastructure to handle big crowds.

In Texas, which is expected to bear the brunt of the crowds, the state's Department of Transportation is preparing highway signs that will say, “NO STOPPING ON HIGHWAY TO VIEW ECLIPSE” and “NO PARKING ON SHOULDER, KEEP MOVING.”

Crews in Texas are also pausing some road construction and maintenance work on major corridors in the path of the eclipse April 7-9, based on traffic volumes.

More: The April total solar eclipse could snarl traffic for hours across thousands of miles

When a total solar eclipse passed over the U.S. in 2017, reports say some traffic jams didn't fully clear for more than 12 hours in some areas.

Even worse, a recent study reported that the 2017 eclipse "was associated with increased risks of a fatal traffic crash" – potentially as much as a 31% increase, the  study said .

Air travel also impacted

The  Federal Aviation Administration  (FAA) is offering guidance to commercial planes and private aircraft  ahead of the eclipse .

"Due to the high volume of traffic along the eclipse path, (airport) arrivals can expect lengthy delays during peak traffic periods," the FAA said.

Airports in Texas, Vermont, Maine, Canada, New Hampshire, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri will be primarily affected by the  eclipse , the FAA said.

"The purpose of this notice is to inform airmen of the possible impacts to air traffic and airports along the eclipse path during the period April 7, 2024, (6 a.m. EST) through April 10, 2024, (midnight EST)," the FAA said.

More: What travelers should know about FAA advisory on total solar eclipse before April 8

Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse and Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY

Chunk of California’s scenic Highway 1 falls off cliff, forcing evacuations

A 40-mile stretch of California’s Highway 1 remained closed Monday after a landslide during a major storm over the weekend caused chunks of the road to fall down a cliff, in an incident that stranded about 1,600 people until they could be evacuated.

The landslide occurred Saturday afternoon near Rocky Creek Bridge, one of several historic spans that line the scenic highway and a popular vantage point to admire the coastal views.

The slip-out caused parts of the highway’s southbound lane to break off and tumble down a cliff into the ocean, the Associated Press reported .

Engineers were still working Sunday to assess the damage, and the highway was closed early Monday in both directions at Palo Colorado, about 14 miles south of Monterey, and between Limekiln State Park and Lime Creek, according to the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans.

Crews were working to stabilize the edge of the roadway, said Caltrans, which asked people to “avoid all unnecessary travel” in the area.

All Big Sur state parks within the affected area — including Point Sur, Andrew Molera, Pfeiffer Big Sur, Julia Pfeiffer Burns and Limekiln — were closed to daytime visitors and campers “until further notice,” Monterey County said .

“We want to emphasize that this is a state disaster,” Nicholas Pasculli, the head of communications for Monterey County, told SFGate on Sunday.

Convoys to start through the Rocky Creek closure on #Hwy1 at 12 pm today. Convoy to lead vehicles first in the north and then in south direction and will repeat at 4 pm today. Starting tomorrow convoys will happen at 8 am and 4 pm. Please avoid all unnecessary travel in area. pic.twitter.com/qh5VLcnGY1 — Caltrans District 5 (@CaltransD5) March 31, 2024

About 1,600 people — including tourists and locals visiting Big Sur for Easter weekend — were initially stranded, and local news outlets reported that some had to spend the night Saturday in hotels, temporary shelters or even their cars.

But on Sunday, emergency convoys escorted most people out, after state engineers determined it was safe to travel on the highway’s northbound lane.

The Monterey-area California Highway Patrol said overnight that it was not aware of anyone who wanted to leave remaining stranded. More convoys were tentatively scheduled for 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday to allow anyone who remained to get out safely, a spokesperson said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said on social media Sunday that his office was “coordinating closely” with agencies “to address a slip out on Highway 1 near Big Sur,” and he thanked the “crews working around the clock to repair the roadway and keep Californians safe.”

Saturday’s landslide could complicate efforts by state authorities to fully reopen Highway 1 by late spring, after sections around Big Sur were closed for repairs following large landslides in the first part of 2023. In December, Caltrans said “multiple months of work” were “still needed to complete repairs at the site.” The agency said it did not known how winter rains would “affect this timetable.” Since then, heavy rain has hampered repairs .

Highway 1, particularly the section along the Big Sur coast, is vulnerable to extreme weather events because of its topography and location. Storms and wildfires — made increasingly intense by climate change — are regular occurrences and can lead to erosion, landslides and mudslides that block, damage or even destroy parts of the road. Frequent travelers and those who live in the area are often aware of the risks .

As The Washington Post wrote in 2021 , “the engineering folly of a road built on sheer cliffs has meant that closures are annual events — the ‘whens,’ not ‘ifs’ — for the people and the economy it supports.”

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Most traffic jam prone cities in Russia in 2021, by congestion level

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Cities with a population with over 800,000 inhabitants

The source added the following information: "The congestion level percentages represent the measured amount of extra travel time experienced by drivers across the entire year. We start by establishing a baseline of travel times during uncongested, free flow conditions across each road segment in each city. We then analyze travel times across the entire year (24/7) for each city – and compare this information against free flow periods to derive extra travel time."

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Building smart transport in Moscow

Smart transport is foundational to any smart city; it is a system that wields a vast array of information and communication technologies to improve efficiency, convenience, and safety across a variety of vehicles and infrastructure assets. But it is a daunting undertaking for cities looking to digitize, with hundreds and thousands of citizens taking daily rides that must run smoothly, cleanly, and on time. In this Q&A, Moscow Deputy Mayor for Transport Maksim Liksutov discusses the city’s efforts to develop a smart transport system that Muscovites enjoy using and that anticipates their ever-changing needs.

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McKinsey: Describe Moscow’s transportation challenge and how the city has been addressing it.

Maksim Liksutov: Until 2010, the traffic situation in Moscow was close to critical: the road network had reached maximum capacity, and Moscow had one of the worst road traffic situations in the world. Thus, in 2011 the Government of Moscow and leading Russian and international experts developed the State Program of Moscow Transport Development to 2020. The plan centers on an analysis of large amounts of commuting data to reduce the load on the roads through a strategic approach to upgrades and new construction, as well as the launch of an intelligent transport system (ITS).

The ITS, which controls more than 2,000 video surveillance cameras, 3,700 road detectors, and 6,000 traffic lights, allows us to provide real-time response to traffic situations throughout the city rather than waiting for Muscovites to call emergency responders, law enforcement, or others to resolve issues. The mayor of Moscow was personally involved in developing and implementing the traffic-improvement measures that resulted in a significant reduction in congestion. Despite that, the number of registered private cars in Moscow increased by more than one million since 2010. In fact, according to the TomTom ranking, 1 1. “TomTom traffic index: Moscow,” TomTom, accessed December 4, 2017, www.tomtom.com/en_gb/trafficindex/city/moscow. Moscow was the most congested out of nearly 400 cities in 2010; by 2016, we had moved down to 13th. The traffic speed in Moscow increased by more than 13 percent—from 45 km/h in 2010 to 51 km/h in 2016. Such congestion reduction is among the best in the world.

We still experience congestion during peak traffic hours, but the improvement has been substantial thanks to the ITS, major changes in parking policies, and significant investments in public transportation, such as metro and buses. In 2017, Moscow won the TomTom award for parking, ranking first globally in quality of parking planning.

McKinsey: What steps is Moscow taking to increase use of the public transport system?

Maksim Liksutov: It is difficult for public transport to compete with the comfort of the car, so we set out to ensure public transport is safe, modern, reliable, accessible, and accommodates the needs of each passenger.

First of all, we have been upgrading our vehicle fleet. Since 2010, we have purchased more than 8,000 new ground transportation vehicles and 1,600 new metro train cars, all manufactured domestically. By the end of 2017, the share of new train cars being used on the metro will reach 37 percent, and ground transportation vehicles will be at 90 percent. Today, the average age of urban buses is less than five years, and 98 percent of our ground transportation vehicles are accessible to disabled passengers. The Moscow metro offers a special assistance service, and there are also “social taxis” to help the elderly and the disabled navigate the city.

Second, we have implemented several modern services found in the best transportation systems in the world, including electronic ticketing systems, a city bicycle system, bus lanes, and a regulated taxi industry. Today, more than 85 percent of trips on public transport are paid for with Troika transport cards, which were introduced in 2013 and enable seamless transfers between all types of surface transport. In 2017, Muscovites made 2.3 million city bicycle trips, twice as many as in 2015. Bus lanes ensure that public transport vehicles are given priority in traffic, which has improved the regularity of bus service in central Moscow; annual full-fare trips on surface transit increased from 586 million in 2010 to one billion in 2017. And thanks to high competition and legalization of the market, Moscow’s 47,000 legal taxis have seen a 16-fold increase in ridership since 2010.

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Third, we have been focused on using data to improve the passenger experience and inform our public transport investments. In addition to helping streamline private car usage and traffic conditions, we use the ITS to collect an extensive data set on bus passenger boarding and alighting, frequency and speed, and load on roads and hubs. Mobile data and tracking systems give us an accurate picture of each bus’s movement. This informed our launch of a new bus route network called Magistral, which has given the more than 900,000 people working downtown access to an efficient alternative to metro travel that would require line changes.

Fourth, we sought to improve connectivity between city districts and relieve the load on metro and train stations by building the Moscow Central Ring, which encircles the city center and connects all of our metro rail lines. Within one year of operation, passenger traffic on this circular railway reached 400,000 trips per day.

Finally, we recently introduced a smart closed-circuit television (CCTV) system to ensure passenger safety. The CCTV automatically records and detects potentially dangerous situations, from unusual crowds to lost or abandoned items, and can even recognize faces. We anticipate that the new security system will provide a tenfold improvement in emergency response times for Moscow metro employees.

As a result of these efforts, Muscovites are making the public system their main mode of transport; the number of full-fare trips taken annually increased from 1.9 billion in 2010 to 2.8 billion in 2017. And today, intervals between trains during peak hours on the busiest lines are at 90 seconds, which keeps the system running smoothly. This indicator is a record among the world’s major underground systems. 2 2. Alexey Timofeychev, “18 little known facts about the Moscow Metro,” Russia Beyond the Headlines, January 19, 2016, rbth.com. Indeed, according to a 2016 study by Community of Metros (CoMET), an independent international association, Moscow has one of the world’s top three metro systems for passenger satisfaction with real-time information.

McKinsey: How do you collect passengers’ feedback on their experiences of using transport, and how do you use this feedback to help make decisions?

Maksim Liksutov: No initiative is implemented without considering the views of Muscovites. Moscow has two service centers that receive questions, suggestions, requests, and appeals from more than 5,000 people every week through telephone, internet, or personal contact. We also process all inquiries and suggestions submitted through social media networks.

Our latest tools for interaction with citizens are city transportation network mobile applications, which Muscovites have downloaded 3.5 million times. The apps can be used to plan a trip using public transportation, pay for parking, and find the nearest bike rental station. The “Moscow Assistant” app even allows residents to register parking violations. About 200,000 residents use the app, and more than 230,000 fines were created in 2017.

At the same time, we are constantly improving our data handling with the goal of anticipating the wishes of Muscovites. We use the same advanced analytics and data processing methods as mobile operators and leading internet services. But unlike these groups, we work with a large volume of diverse data that come from metro and bus trips, photo and video recordings of violations, vehicle tracking, tracking of mobile applications, and Wi-Fi use. With this data in hand, we process feedback from passengers and provide relevant and up-to-date information on city events. We can also change the route network, for example, if we see there is a new hub of activity in the city that needs public transport service. We have just started to develop the mechanism, and much remains to be done in this regard.

McKinsey: What are the main problems that arise in the process of smart-city management and use of big data?

Maksim Liksutov: Data protection is a primary concern in the management of any smart city. The introduction of smart technologies involves many risks, and we want to provide the most reliable protection available. This month, the Moscow Center for Traffic Management set up a new protective barrier for the virtual infrastructure of the ITS, including a set of advanced software protection measures that ensure full security. Now our ITS is defended by modern, cyber software and endpoint protection. The solution minimizes the risk of malicious software penetrating the city’s databases and protects against leaks of confidential information and personal data.

McKinsey: What is your vision of Moscow in 2025? How does it fit into the global landscape of smart transport technology?

Maksim Liksutov: To start, we are committed to continuing to increase the convenience of ticketing and payment methods for public transport, exploring methods such as wearable ticketing technology.

In the realm of personalized travel, we recently began testing a new method of pushing information to metro passengers. Given the data obtained from Troika cards, we can recommend to each individual passenger the most convenient ways to use the city’s public transport system (custom-made transport). We hope that in future, personalized information provision will become a convenient tool for managing passenger traffic, and the opportunities of big data will contribute to comfort and safety of Muscovites.

We understand that public transport plays an important role in reducing air pollution and creating a healthy city. As such, in the coming years Moscow intends to become the world leader in the development of electric public transport. With the city’s buses carrying millions of people a day, procurement of an ecofriendly and comfortable fleet is a top priority. We will phase in electric buses over the next few years, and in 2021, Moscow will stop purchasing diesel buses, opting instead for an entirely electric fleet.

And of course, we will continue to create a more convenient route network that stays ahead of Muscovites’ needs by providing buses and adding routes and stops based on what users say and technologies reveal are most needed.

McKinsey: What advice do you have for other city leaders?

Maksim Liksutov: I am not in a position to give it; every city, especially a megacity, is unique. Since we started reforming our transport system later than most world capitals, Moscow has had the opportunity to learn from and apply the experience of cities such as Beijing, London, Singapore, and Tokyo. We are working to implement the best solutions available across the world—and I know other city leaders are working to learn from one another and do the same for their home town.

Photo courtesy of the City of Moscow

Maksim Liksutov is the deputy mayor for transport in Moscow.

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Electric cars have a road trip problem, even for the secretary of energy

Camila Domonoske

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is working hard to convince more Americans to embrace electric cars — and she knows this means the country's charging infrastructure needs to improve, fast. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is working hard to convince more Americans to embrace electric cars — and she knows this means the country's charging infrastructure needs to improve, fast.

When Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm set out on a four-day electric-vehicle road trip this summer, she knew charging might be a challenge. But she probably didn't expect anyone to call the cops.

Granholm's trip through the southeast, from Charlotte, N.C., to Memphis, Tenn., was intended to draw attention to the billions of dollars the White House is pouring into green energy and clean cars. The administration's ambitious energy agenda, if successful, could significantly cut U.S. emissions and reshape Americans' lives in fundamental ways, including by putting many more people in electric vehicles.

Granholm approaches a charging station to charge the Cadillac Lyriq she was riding during a four-day road trip through the southeast early this summer. The electric vehicle had charging problems due to an "isolated hardware issue," Cadillac says. But Granholm's team encountered plenty of not-so-isolated problems too. Camila Domonoske/NPR hide caption

Granholm approaches a charging station to charge the Cadillac Lyriq she was riding during a four-day road trip through the southeast early this summer. The electric vehicle had charging problems due to an "isolated hardware issue," Cadillac says. But Granholm's team encountered plenty of not-so-isolated problems too.

On town hall stops along her road trip, Granholm made a passionate, optimistic case for this transition. She often put up a photo of New York City in 1900, full of horses and carriages, with a single car. Then another slide: "Thirteen years later, same street. All these cars. Can you spot the horse?"

One horse was in the frame.

"Things are happening fast. You are in the center of it. Imagine how big clean energy industries will be in 13 years," she told one audience in South Carolina. "How much stronger our economy is going to grow. How many good-paying jobs we're going to create — and where we are going to lead the world."

Going along for the ride

The auto industry, under immense pressure to tackle its contribution to climate change, is undertaking a remarkable switch to electric vehicles — but it's not necessarily going to be a smooth transition.

Not every vehicle in Granholm's caravan was electric. The Secret Service, for instance, rode in large traditional SUVs. Camila Domonoske/NPR hide caption

Not every vehicle in Granholm's caravan was electric. The Secret Service, for instance, rode in large traditional SUVs.

I rode along with Granholm during her trip, eager to see firsthand how the White House intends to promote a potentially transformative initiative to the public and what kind of issues it would encounter on the road.

Granholm is in many ways the perfect person to help pitch the United States' ambitious shift to EVs. As a two-term former governor of Michigan, she helped rescue the auto industry during the 2008 global financial crisis, and she's a longtime EV enthusiast. (Her family recently switched from the Chevy Bolt to the Ford Mustang Mach-E.)

That makes her uniquely well positioned to envision the future of the auto industry and to sell the dream of what that future could look like.

But between stops, Granholm's entourage at times had to grapple with the limitations of the present. Like when her caravan of EVs — including a luxury Cadillac Lyriq, a hefty Ford F-150 and an affordable Bolt electric utility vehicle — was planning to fast-charge in Grovetown, a suburb of Augusta, Georgia.

Her advance team realized there weren't going to be enough plugs to go around. One of the station's four chargers was broken, and others were occupied. So an Energy Department staffer tried parking a nonelectric vehicle by one of those working chargers to reserve a spot for the approaching secretary of energy.

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That did not go down well: a regular gas-powered car blocking the only free spot for a charger?

In fact, a family that was boxed out — on a sweltering day, with a baby in the vehicle — was so upset they decided to get the authorities involved: They called the police.

The sheriff's office couldn't do anything. It's not illegal for a non-EV to claim a charging spot in Georgia. Energy Department staff scrambled to smooth over the situation, including sending other vehicles to slower chargers, until both the frustrated family and the secretary had room to charge.

This charging station in Grovetown, Ga., was overcrowded. An electric school bus that was driving on a statewide clean-energy road show needed one charger; another charger was broken. Camila Domonoske/NPR hide caption

This charging station in Grovetown, Ga., was overcrowded. An electric school bus that was driving on a statewide clean-energy road show needed one charger; another charger was broken.

Getting it together

John Ryan, a driver of an electric BMW, pulled up after everything was settled. It was his turn to wait.

"It's just par for the course," he shrugged. "They'll get it together at some point."

Federal money is now headed to states for building up fast EV chargers on highways

"They" would be the government, the automakers, the charging networks like Electrify America and ChargePoint, and the companies like Walmart, Shell and 7-Eleven that are entering the charging game.

And they are, in fact, desperate to get it together. Carmakers have hundreds of billions of dollars of investment on the line, and they are embracing Tesla's technology and teaming up with rivals to try to tackle the charging problem. Meanwhile, the U.S. government is pouring billions into a nationwide network of electric chargers, trying to fix the very problem Granholm was encountering.

I drive an electric vehicle myself, and I've test-driven many more as NPR's auto reporter. I know how easy it can be to charge when everything goes well and how annoying it can be when things go poorly.

Riding along with Granholm, I came away with a major takeaway: EVs that aren't Teslas have a road trip problem, and the White House knows it's urgent to solve this issue.

Solving the road trip problem

The road trip has long loomed large in the American automotive imagination.

Road trips are a tiny fraction of the trips Americans take; drivers mostly commute or drive around town. And at home, charging an EV is much easier (not to mention cheaper) than fueling up with gasoline; you just plug in overnight, and you're good to go every morning.

On a practical basis, making sure everyone can charge at home would seem much more important than building road trip chargers. And this is a real concern for some drivers.

But for many drivers, it's not charging at home that worries them: It's what they'll do on the road.

An electric vehicle charger stands in front of an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union hall and training center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Camila Domonoske/NPR hide caption

An electric vehicle charger stands in front of an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union hall and training center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

According to the auto-data giant J.D. Power, worries about public chargers are the No. 1 reason why would-be EV buyers are reluctant to make the switch, even outranking concerns about high prices. And driver satisfaction with public chargers is getting worse, not better .

Tesla chargers are significantly better than the competition, and most of the electric vehicles in the U.S. are Teslas.

Tesla is opening up its exclusive network to more vehicles, which could transform the charging experience as soon as next year, but not all automakers have embraced Tesla's technology. And although Tesla dominates the EV market, the Biden administration wants every automaker to go electric quickly and every driver to have access to fast, reliable charging.

"Ultimately, we want to make it super-easy for people to travel long distances," Granholm told me.

But as she knows, long-distance travel in non-Tesla EVs is not always "super-easy" today.

Problem 1: Planning is cumbersome

The secretary's trip had been painstakingly mapped out ahead of time to allow for charging. We stopped at hotels with slower "Level 2" plugs for overnight charging and then paused at superfast chargers between cities.

That required upfront work that a gas-powered road trip simply doesn't require. My car can hypothetically locate a nearby charger on the road — as with many EVs, that feature is built into an app on the car's infotainment screen — so I shouldn't have to plan ahead. But in reality, I use multiple apps to find chargers, read reviews to make sure they work and plot out convenient locations for a 30-minute pit stop (a charger by a restaurant, for instance, instead of one located at a car dealership).

At a stop in South Carolina, Granholm told audiences she recognized the importance of making chargers easy to find on apps.

For chargers to qualify for new federal money, the energy secretary explained, "they have to be every 50 miles and within 1 mile off the charging corridor, and they have to be app enabled. So you have to be able to see with your phone, is this charger available so that I can go use it, right?"

Granholm talks to executives from Albemarle, a maker of lithium, a vital component of electric vehicle batteries, in Kings Mountain, N.C. Pictured behind her is NPR reporter Camila Domonoske. Conor McCabe/Department of Energy hide caption

Granholm talks to executives from Albemarle, a maker of lithium, a vital component of electric vehicle batteries, in Kings Mountain, N.C. Pictured behind her is NPR reporter Camila Domonoske.

Problem 2: Not enough chargers

One reason road trips take so much planning: Some parts of the U.S., including much of the southeast, simply don't have many high-speed chargers, also called DC fast chargers.

I happen to live on the edge of a charging desert. In my Virginia hometown, there are no DC fast chargers except for a Tesla Supercharger station, which I can't use ... yet. That's not a problem, since I charge at home. Much more problematic is that if I want to drive through West Virginia, I can access only 11 fast chargers in the entire state. That's actually progress; three weeks ago, there were only eight.

Where chargers are in short supply, drivers sometimes have to wait — like Granholm's team did in Grovetown, Georgia. The experience could get even worse as the number of electric vehicles on the road increases in coming years.

"Clearly, we need more high-speed chargers, particularly in the South," Granholm told me at the end of her trip.

Big carmakers unite to build a charging network and reassure reluctant EV buyers

She emphasized the $7.5 billion investment that the Biden administration is making in building more public chargers — money that's currently being distributed to states.

"By the end of this year, I think we'll start to see [those chargers] popping up along the charging corridors," she said.

Problem 3: Not fast enough

There was another DC charging station about a 10-minute drive from that stop in Grovetown. But that station's chargers were nowhere near as fast. In fact, aside from chargers reserved for Teslas and one charging station just for Rivians, it was more than an hour's drive to the next actually-fast fast charger.

And that brings us to the next problem with America's fast charger network: It's too slow.

When DC fast chargers were first built, 50 kilowatts (a measure of charging speed) was considered speedy. Times have changed. Many newer vehicles can charge at least three times faster than that. But those older chargers remain on roads, making up a sizable chunk of the country's fast-charging infrastructure.

A common sight for electric vehicle drivers: This station is not operating at full speed. Camila Domonoske/NPR hide caption

A common sight for electric vehicle drivers: This station is not operating at full speed.

That doesn't matter much for cheaper vehicles that can't charge very fast anyway, like my Bolt. But for newer, faster-charging vehicles, especially big ones with giant batteries, it could be the difference between waiting 20 minutes to charge — or waiting an hour.

This problem is easing over time. Most new chargers are on the faster end of the spectrum, and the federal incentives are available only for chargers that are 150 kilowatts or faster.

Problem 4: Not reliable enough

Of course, having a superfast charger doesn't do you any good if the dang thing doesn't work.

On the secretary's road trip, that stop in Grovetown included a charger with a dead black screen. At another stop in Tennessee, the Chevy Bolt that I was riding in charged at one-third the rate it should have. Electrify America says that's not an isolated problem; a faulty component has caused a number of chargers to be "derated" while the company works on a fix.

Companies like Electrify America — funded by Volkswagen as part of its penalty for the Dieselgate scandal — are among the private players that have helped build out America's current charging infrastructure. But reliability is proving to be an issue.

How fast can the auto industry go electric? Debate rages as the U.S. sets new rules

J.D. Power found that when non-Tesla drivers pull up at a charging station, they leave without charging 20% of the time, because the chargers were either all busy or not functioning.

The federal government has responded with a new requirement: Highway chargers that get federal funds will have to prove they're operational at least 97% of the time.

The good news: Charging can be great

Despite overcrowding, broken chargers and slow speeds, charging on the road worked most of the time for Granholm's team.

"I think two days in, I would totally buy an EV," an Energy Department staffer who was driving an EV for the first time mused halfway through the trip. "Like, it would be pretty easy to do a road trip. You have to stop for lunch anyway, so you stop, charge, keep going."

Road trip charging can be cheap too. Granholm's 770-mile trip cost one of the Energy Department's drivers just $35 total, less than half of what gasoline would have run in a similar vehicle.

On a more basic level, Granholm's team was ultimately able to charge in every town it stopped at. There was no risk of being stranded, which was the fear of very early adopters of EVs, back before public chargers were available.

And if you have a garage, a driveway or EV chargers at your workplace, day-to-day charging is even easier. Personally, I plug my Bolt into a standard outlet when I'm home and into a Level 2 charger at NPR's headquarters when I'm in Washington, D.C. I don't sit around and wait for it to charge; I just go about my life. And when I'm ready to go, so is the car.

That's not "just as easy" as filling up a gas-powered car. It's significantly easier.

Tesla Superchargers in San Rafael, Calif., on Feb. 15. Tesla invested in chargers as a way to sell cars, building them where people would want them, regardless of whether the chargers could individually be profitable. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

Tesla Superchargers in San Rafael, Calif., on Feb. 15. Tesla invested in chargers as a way to sell cars, building them where people would want them, regardless of whether the chargers could individually be profitable.

Tesla's super Superchargers

And then, of course, there are the Tesla chargers, which simply work better than the other chargers out there.

J.D. Power has found that Tesla drivers successfully charge at 96% of the Superchargers they visit.

Tesla invested in chargers as a way to sell cars, building fast, reliable charging stations where people would want them, regardless of whether the chargers could individually be profitable.

Tesla also defied the rest of the auto industry in using its own charging technology rather than the carefully negotiated industrywide standard.

Opening up the walled garden

The strategy paid off. For years, Tesla kept its network of Superchargers as a walled garden. Tesla drivers raved about them, but no one else could use them.

That started to change this year when Tesla struck a deal with the White House to open some chargers to the general public. And the walled garden blew wide open after Ford announced it was adopting Tesla's charging technology. Future Fords will come with the Tesla-style plug, and starting in January, existing-Ford owners can buy an adapter and plug in.

The idea was born — where else? — on a road trip.

Ford CEO Jim Farley recently told NPR he was driving with his kids on a family vacation, past a huge, conveniently located Tesla Supercharger station. His kids wondered why Farley, who was driving a Mustang Mach-E, couldn't just stop there to charge.

Ford is losing a lot of money in electric cars — but CEO Jim Farley is charging ahead

Farley explained that they couldn't because those were Tesla chargers.

When he explained why they couldn't charge there, his kids were blunt, as he recalled to NPR in an interview in August: "'Well, that's stupid. They have, like, a lot of free open spots there.'"

And the idea for the Tesla deal was born.

Other private sector solutions

Ford's announcement kicked off an astonishing shift. In the weeks after, General Motors, Rivian, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan all announced that they too were adopting Tesla's technology. This means that as soon as next year, the EV road trip experience could be dramatically different for non-Tesla drivers.

And then, in a separate surprise move this summer, seven legacy automakers — BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis (formerly known as Fiat Chrysler) — announced they were banding together in a joint venture to launch a new , as-yet-unnamed, charging network.

They plan to build 30,000 superfast 350-kilowatt chargers — even bigger and faster than the Supercharger network.

Meanwhile, existing companies like ChargePoint are clearly feeling pressure to fix their unreliable and underperforming chargers. ChargePoint just announced it's spending millions of dollars on a new operations center and other programs meant to "deliver near-100% charging reliability."

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm tests out an electric leaf blower at a Home Depot stop near Atlanta. In addition to promoting electric vehicles, the federal government has funded new rebates for low-income households that buy cleaner appliances or other upgrades. States are still working on the details for administering those programs. Camila Domonoske/NPR hide caption

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm tests out an electric leaf blower at a Home Depot stop near Atlanta. In addition to promoting electric vehicles, the federal government has funded new rebates for low-income households that buy cleaner appliances or other upgrades. States are still working on the details for administering those programs.

The road to the future

Those private-led efforts — as well as the muscle and money provided by the government — could prove a game changer.

"The private sector has stepped up," Granholm told me toward the end of her road trip. The response to federal incentives has been, as she put it, "a blockbuster."

Granholm has long been an energetic and optimistic pitchwoman for the electric vehicle future, even before her current position.

On her road trip this summer, she made the case again and again that switching to green energy and clean cars will save money, create jobs and promote national security, on top of being a crucial component in the plan to fight climate change.

"If you're not persuaded by climate change or you think it's not happening, well, you should be persuaded by lowering the costs," she told me.

And as Granholm knows, the cars themselves can be persuasive. Stop me if you've heard this from an EV driver before — but a quiet, speedy vehicle that never needs an oil change is just plain nice to drive, charging headaches and all.

Or ask Holmesetta Green. I met her when she was sitting on a curb in the back corner of a Walmart parking lot, parked right next to Granholm, waiting for her Volkswagen ID.4 to charge.

Green, a 79-year-old retired teacher, frequently makes the six-hour drive from her home in Louisville, Ky., to her hometown in Holly Springs, Mississippi.

Biden administration proposes new fuel economy standards, with higher bar for trucks

It was hot that day. Hot hot. "You ever fried an egg on a sidewalk?" Green asked me. She wished out loud for a charging station in a park, with a bench in the shade.

I asked her how she likes her SUV. And her answer summed up the anxieties and the hopes of both the Biden administration and the auto industry at large.

"It's not enough chargers over on the major highways," she said. And charging is "kind of slow."

"Other than that, I wouldn't take $100,000 for this car," she said, smiling ear to ear. "We love it. We love the electric."

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Sydney gets a drenching as heavy rain, severe weather forecast for NSW today and tomorrow

It has been a wet and wild day across New South Wales with more extreme weather expected over the weekend.

In Sydney more than 160 millimetres of rain has fallen since 9am on Thursday, its heaviest in 4 years.

More than 45 flood alerts remain active across New South Wales on Friday night after intense rainfall saturated the state with the worst to come overnight.

• 7:13 AM 7:13 AM Fri 5 Apr 2024 at 7:13am Sydney cops heaviest rainfall in 4 years
• 7:01 AM 7:01 AM Fri 5 Apr 2024 at 7:01am Six injured in wet-weather crash
• 6:24 AM 6:24 AM Fri 5 Apr 2024 at 6:24am BOM issues flood warning for Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers

Live updates

Where to find emergency assistance and information.

By Luke Royes

For emergency assistance, contact SES in NSW or QLD on 132 500

If your life is at risk, call Triple-0 (000) immediately

For the latest weather updates visit the   Bureau of Meteorology   in   NSW here

ABC Emergency   contains planning and advice, an incident map and more

If you're not sure what to do when there's a flood,   here's the best way to plan

Tune in to your local ABC Radio Station

Sydney cops heaviest rainfall in 4 years

By David Hirst

Here's a few facts and figures from our weather boffin Tom Saunders:

• Sydney has already received its heaviest rain total in 4 years with more than 160mm since 9am yesterday (highest 48-hour total)
• The heaviest rain today has been on the Mid North Coast. Taree with more than 100mm since 9am
• A deluge will arrive overnight across parts of Sydney and the Illawarra, Blue Mountains and Hunter leading to severe flash flooding and rapid river rises, including up to 220mm in 6 hours on the Illawarra Escarpment
• The torrential falls are part of a broader rain event which is soaking eastern Australia, and has triggered flood watches and warnings from southern Queensland to the NSW South Coast
• More than 40 flood watches are current for NSW
• The band of torrential rain is moving south and will clear from Sydney by about 8am, clear the Illawarra by late morning and clear from the South Coast by the evening

Six injured in wet-weather crash

Reporting by Adriane Reardon from the ABC South East NSW newsroom.

Six people, including two children, have been taken to hospital with injuries following a crash in wet weather south of Mudgee in the NSW central west.

Emergency services were called to the two-vehicle crash on the Castlereagh Highway, about 2pm today, where a ute and four-wheel drive had collided.

The male passenger in the ute, believed to be in his 60s, was flown to hospital with serious injuries, while the male driver, 55 was taken to Mudgee Hospital.

The driver of the four-wheel drive, a 34-year-old man, was also flown to hospital with serious injuries, while his 32-year-old female passenger was flown to hospital with critical injuries.

Two children in the back-seat, aged two and six, sustained minor injuries and taken to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead for observation.

A crime scene has been established and an investigation is underway.

Flooding at Parramatta River in Sydney's west

ABC photographer Timothy Ailwood is at Parramatta River. He's just filed this pic.

Storm damage to create 'significant work' for SES

NSW SES chief superintendent Dallas Burnes has this afternoon given an update on ABC News 24.

Mr Burnes said storm damage was going to "create more significant work for us".

He said the majority of call-outs had been for leaking roofs and fallen trees and there had been about half a dozen rescues.

Mr Burnes urged people to stay indoors tonight.

"If it's at nighttime and the road is flooded? Do not cross that roadway. You do not know what is under it. "The flood rescues we've undertaken today, the majority related to cars entering floodwater. That puts our volunteers' lives at risk."

Rain and thunderstorms continue in southern Queensland

A south-west Queensland town has shut its flood levee ahead of major flooding, as the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecasts heavy falls for the south-east of the state into the weekend.

Senior forecaster Laura Boekel said rain and thunderstorms would continue today and tomorrow, with possible falls of up to 100 millimetres.

"It's very important to note that in some parts of the south and south-east, we're seeing moisture of the soil and the catchments quite high, so that means catchments, rivers, creeks can respond quite rapidly," she said.

"We could see responses from moderate rainfall this weekend."

Read more here .

BOM issues flood warning for Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers

The people at the Bureau of Meteorology have certainly had a busy day. They've just released another weather update.

• Major flooding possible at Menangle and North Richmond from Saturday morning
• Moderate flooding possible at Windsor and Putty Road from overnight Friday
• Minor flooding likely at Camden Weir, Wallacia Weir, Penrith, Sackville and possible at Lower Portland from Friday evening

Rainfall totals of up to 150mm have been observed in the Hawkesbury Nepean catchment since 9am on Thursday.

Further heavy rainfall is forecast through the catchment for the remainder of Friday and into Saturday.

Minor flooding is likely along the Hawkesbury, Nepean and Colo Rivers from overnight Friday. With the forecast rainfall, further river level rises and moderate to major flooding is possible from Saturday morning along the Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers.

Transport update for commuters

This is the latest from the Transport Management Centre.

Motorists and public transport passengers are advised to plan ahead and allow plenty of extra travel time due to severe weather in Sydney and surrounding areas.

• Wakehurst Parkway is closed in both directions due to flooding between North Narrabeen and Oxford Falls.
• Oxford Falls Road is closed in both directions due to flooding between Wakehurst Parkway and Aroona Road.
• Other roads where motorists are advised to take extra care due to water on the road include: The Pacific Highway at Pymble, Centenary Drive at Strathfield, Pittwater Road at North Manly and Euston Road at St Peters

On public transport:

• Passengers who need to travel on the Sydney Trains network are advised to allow plenty of extra travel time due to severe weather damaging equipment at Redfern, as well as slower boarding times.
• Trains are running on all lines but there are some delays and gaps in service.  
• Plan ahead and avoid travel where possible.
• Buses are supplementing trains between Campbelltown and Macarthur, and between Riverstone and Richmond.
• Passengers are advised to listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates.​
• Buses are replacing ferries between Parramatta and Rydalmere due to the weir overflowing.

Parramatta River overflowing

This is the latest from the ABC's Elinya Chenery.

Heavy rainfall has caused minor flooding in Sydney's west this afternoon.

The Parramatta River is overflowing in low lying areas after the water level raised above 2 metres in height.

Areas affected by the flooding include the Parramatta Ferry Wharf and footbridges across the river.

Authorities say further flooding is expected in the area in the coming hours.

Communities on Mid North Coast without power

Some communities along parts of the Bellingen River on the NSW Mid North Coast are completely isolated by flood water and without power.

Residents in the localities of Thora and Darkwood are affected, and NSW SES crews will be undertaking welfare checks.

"We've got some communities there that are completely isolated by floodwater," NSW SES spokesperson Andrew Edmunds said on the ABC statewide drive program.

"They may find themselves without power, water and other essential services."

Isolated residents in those communities are being urged to contact the NSW SES on 132 500 if they need assistance with supplies.

NSW SES advises people not to go outside

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) is advising people to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel as significant rainfall impacts much of the NSW east coast.

A severe storm warning is in place for communities from Gosford in the north, to Batemans Bay in the south, across to Goulburn, with damaging winds and very heavy rain possible. Meanwhile, residents on the Bellingen River at Thora and Darkwood have been advised to prepare for isolation.

Residents in these communities may find themselves cut off by flood water and without power, water and other essential services.

NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Sean Kearns said conditions were likely to worsen over the next few hours.

"There's potential for very large downpours of rain between the Blue Mountains and Narooma, which could lead to life-threatening flash flooding," Assistant Commissioner Kearns said.

The NSW SES said it had responded to more than 800 incidents in the last 24 hours.

Prepare to evacuate alert in Chipping Norton

The NSW SES has issued a prepare to evacuate and watch and act notice for people in low lying areas of eastern parts of Chipping Norton.

Those in the following area are being told to prepare to evacuate due to predicted dangerous flooding:

• All properties in the following streets in Chipping Norton:
• Newbridge Road between Riverside Road and east to Georges River
• Riverside Road between Childs Road and Newbridge Road
• Davy Robinson Drive
• Rickard Road
• Arthur Street

You should monitor the situation and prepare to evacuate so that you can safely evacuate when instructed to do so by NSW SES. There's more detail on Facebook here .

More than 100 flights cancelled at Sydney Airport

The wild weather has not surprisingly caused issues at Sydney Airport with more than 100 flights cancelled through domestic arrivals and departures.

A Sydney Airport spokesperson urged passengers to check with their airline regarding the status of their flight.

Is public transport in Sydney affected by the weather?

• Sydney Trains and Ferries   asked commuters to take "extra care"   as surfaces can be slippery when wet
• Transport for NSW is advising to allow for extra travel time on the T1, T2, T3, T8 and T9 train lines due to weather damaging equipment at Redfern
• Transport for NSW says there are no significant delays on Sydney's bus network

Hundreds of sandbags at the ready in Gosford

Hundreds of sandbags are ready and waiting for collection at the NSW SES Gosford depot on the Central Coast in preparation for more rain to come.

Members of the community volunteered their time to help fill the bags today, along with those from the Terrigal Rugby Union Club.

Gosford has received more than 70 millimetres so far today, according to data from the Bureau of Meteorology.

BOM updates flood warning

The Bureau of Meteorology has updated its Flood Watch which now includes major flooding on:

• Myall River
• Lower Hunter River
• Upper Nepean River
• Hawkesbury and Lower Nepean River
• Georges and Woronora River
• Macquarie River to Bathurst

Click here for regular Flood Watch updates from the BOM .

Major delays on state's rail networks

Transport for NSW says there are "major delays" across the Sydney Trains and NSW Trainlink networks because of the heavy rain.

Passengers are advised to avoid non-essential travel.

Buses may supplement some services.

If you do need to travel though, Transport for NSW advises you to allow plenty of extra time.

Flooding impacts Newell Highway

Flooding continues to impact the Newell Highway in the state's north, which remains closed between Boggabilla and Moree.

Motorists travelling north from Moree can take a diversion using the Carnarvon Highway and the Barwon Highway to Goondiwindi.

The southbound diversion is the same in reverse and is also suitable for all vehicles.

The alternate route between the two towns is about 2.5 hours long.

Hawkesbury SES commander says it's a 'waiting game' at the moment

By Millie Roberts

Jessica Kidd from the Sydney newsroom spoke to Kevin Jones from the Hawkesbury SES just then.

He said the volunteers were busily checking equipment and making sure everything was "good to go" as the unit prepared for rain in the Hawkesbury expected tonight.

"We're really at the moment just playing a bit of a waiting game, waiting for the rain to come," he said. "It seems to have not been as bad as they were predicting up on the north coast, but as it comes further south it looks like … there's still a chance that it's going to be a bit more intense."

Mr Jones said the local community is "definitely much more aware" on this occasion after going through "so many floods", which has helped with preparations today.

Power restored to hundreds of buildings in Sydney's CBD

Ausgrid says power has been restored to hundreds of businesses and homes after "significant rainfall" caused a major power outage.

It said 1,300 customers were affected after a substation flooded on Goulburn and Pitt streets.

Power has now been restored to more than 1,250 customers after the water was pumped offsite.  

It said the "bulk" of affected customers have their lights back on, but a small number may still be out at this point in time.

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‘Plan Ahead’: Baltimore Traffic Reporter on Congestion After Bridge Collapse

Tony Thornton looks ahead to years of crowded tunnels and highways with the loss of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

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By Adeel Hassan

When the Francis Scott Key Bridge was built in the 1970s, it was intended to relieve congestion from the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel.

Forty-seven years later, some of that traffic will be diverted back to the tunnel after the bridge collapsed last week upon being struck by a giant cargo ship, killing six construction workers. With the rebuilding process expected to take several years, that most likely means years of gridlock for commuters, travelers and truck drivers.

The flow of traffic through and around the city is taking on new patterns and shapes, as the 35,000 cars and trucks that once crossed the Key Bridge’s four lanes try alternative routes. The 1.6-mile bridge was the final link on Interstate 695, which loops around the city and is known as the Baltimore Beltway. The crossing’s overall structure, including its connecting approaches, was almost 11 miles long.

The bridge, a major north-south artery in one of the nation’s busiest ports, had connected working-class communities on either side, and it was used mainly by commuters. A former mayor called it the city’s “ blue-collar bridge .”

Most of its local drivers will merge with some of the out-of-town drivers traversing the city through the Harbor Tunnel, on Interstate 895, and the Fort McHenry Tunnel, on Interstate 95, underneath the city’s harbor and closer to Baltimore’s downtown.

As a morning traffic reporter for WBAL News Radio, Tony Thornton will be keeping a close eye on the snarled commutes. Mr. Thornton, who has lived in the area for about 40 years, uses scanners and cameras to get bird’s-eye views of the highways and byways.

He spoke to The Times about the Key Bridge, what drivers are facing and what may be ahead. This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

What was it like on the morning of the bridge collapse?

I did my first traffic report, probably around 4:05. I figured out that they were detouring traffic off exit ramps prior to the bridge on each side. And I figured out where those points were. So now traffic had to be diverted to the tunnels.

And that’s tricky because the commercial trucks and tractor-trailers that have hazardous materials can’t go through the tunnels. They were used to taking the Francis Scott Key Bridge. So now I have to actually tell truckers the height or the clearance of the tunnel and direct them to the other side of the beltway. You’re talking about an additional 20 to 25 miles just for that.

What have you seen on the roads since then?

An increase in traffic, in the tunnels, especially heading south into the tunnels. And that traffic delay has been starting earlier than usual.

So, typically, we would see a little bit of congestion in the tunnels around 8 in the morning. I’ve seen that now as early as 6 in the morning. It actually almost triples the time it takes for traffic to go through the tunnels.

What I’ve seen on cameras, if you’re heading into the city, approaching the tunnels, is a lot more police presence. Just on the side, just making sure traffic is OK and responding to any accident or incident quickly. You can tell they want to clear the roadway off as quickly as possible, to make sure that traffic continues to flow. It’s a lot, lot quicker than they have been in the past.

Who has been most affected?

A lot of the commercial truckers, a lot of people that work in the ports, a lot of residents that live in that area rely on that bridge. It’s more just workers, folks that are heading to the ports, or folks that are looking to utilize the industry.

And it’s a 24/7 type of industry, too, so it’s always busy. It was just fortunate that at the time of the bridge collapse the Maryland Department of Transportation was able to stop traffic, and it wasn’t as busy at 1:30 in the morning. If that happened an hour and a half later, who knows?

What are you looking ahead to this week?

It was spring break for a lot of the local school districts last week. I’m looking for more of an impact. You already have the normal traffic volume around the beltway. That’s probably going to begin to double now because schools are going to be back.

During a typical school day, I will see traffic starting to build around the Baltimore Beltway around between 6:00 and 6:30. But I anticipate not only having that traffic, but also having additional traffic going through both of the tunnels now, because that’s going to be the way of life.

So now you’re going to have that increased traffic around the beltway, as well as increased traffic in both the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and the Fort McHenry Tunnel. And, as you know, Interstate 95 comes from New Jersey, down through Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington. It’s all just one big, big, big corridor there.

What’s your advice for drivers?

You’re going to have to plan ahead. If your normal commute takes you 30 to 45 minutes, you may have to leave 10 to 15 minutes earlier than usual because of the traffic delays starting earlier now.

For truck drivers or commercial drivers, just heed the hazardous materials warnings. If you have any type of hazardous materials, they will literally turn you around, and you have to exit onto a side road, and you will not be able to take the tunnels.

Have some patience. It is a very, very scenic ride driving through Baltimore city. You’ll be able to see a lot of the sights, whether you see the stadiums, Camden Yards, M&T Bank Stadium, you’ll see the skyline of Baltimore. Baltimore is a very beautiful city.

Adeel Hassan is a reporter and editor on the National Desk. He is a founding member of Race/Related , and much of his work focuses on identity and discrimination. He started the Morning Briefing for NYT Now and was its inaugural writer. He also served as an editor on the International Desk.  More about Adeel Hassan