CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A new study says Chicago area commuters continue to stew in traffic longer than ever.
The Urban Mobility Report says Chicago-area motorists spent 73 hours in backups in 2017 – one hour more than the year before – and a whopping 42 hours more than commuters did in 1982. That is the year Texas A&M’s Transportation Institute started putting out the reports.
The traffic jams are costly, too. They are estimated to cost Chicago area motorists more than $1,300 extra just to sit in backups.
The phrase "rush hour” is really an obsolete concept because one-third of delays occur outside morning and afternoon commuting periods, says Bill Eisele, a co-author of the study.
When one takes into account truck and car traffic, the Chicago-area's congestion is the third-worst in the country. Local auto commuters by themselves have it the 10th worst, according to the study.