Minnesota is home to the 21st most congested city in the United
States, Minneapolis-St. Paul (which shares this 'honor' with
Boston), where the Travel Time Index (TTI) is 1.34. This means
that driving times during peak traffic hours are 34 percent
longer than during off-peak times. Unless major steps are taken
to relieve congestion, drivers in the Twin Cities can expect to
see a TTI of 1.76 by 2030, meaning they will experience travel
delays worse than present-day Los Angeles. Minneapolis-St. Paul
could significantly reduce congestion by adding about 2,400 new
lane-miles by 2030 at an estimated cost of $7.6 billion in
today's dollars. This includes the costs of adding 5 percent of
the new capacity by building elevated roadways and tunnels,
which will be necessary in a densely settled location like
Minneapolis-St. Paul. This investment would save an estimated
153 million hours per year that are now lost sitting in Twin
City traffic, at a cost of just $1.97per delay-hour saved. This
does not account for the add