• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • About The Valley Citizen

Strong Economy Means Longer Commute Times

January 5, 2019 By Bruce Frohman 1 Comment

Bruce Frohman

On Friday, December 21, 2018, the 90 mile afternoon drive from Mountain View in Silicon Valley to Modesto took over four hours. The average speed was about 20 miles per hour. A stalled vehicle on Interstate 680 at Andrade Road at the beginning of the commute created a traffic jam that didn’t clear for six hours. Another jam on I-580 from Castro Valley to I-205 cost an hour. Routes I-205/120/99 and 132 were also moving below the speed limit.

For many years, cities have permitted urban sprawl without making sure we have enough roads to serve the increase in traffic. During slow economic times, the roadway deficiency was not evident. However, as the economy improved, congestion rapidly worsened.

With the twelve cent per gallon increase in the gasoline tax, road construction that increases carrying capacity of major arterials needs to be expedited. Unfortunately for Californians, Caltrans is incapable of doing anything quickly. The agency has become too bureaucratic and inflexible to accomplish what is needed now.

For over 15 years, Caltrans has been constantly working on Interstate 580 between Interstate 680 in Dublin and Interstate 205 in Tracy. During that time, traffic volume has increased faster than new lanes have been built. The result is worse congestion and longer delays than ever between Dublin and the Central Valley.

The economic loss to Valley Citizens in the form of wasted gasoline and time while sitting in stopped traffic is undoubtedly greater than the cost of the road construction on I-580.Commerce has also been hindered by the congestion as trucking is delayed over the Altamont Pass between the warehouses, manufacturing, and customers on both sides of the mountain.

When no congestion exists between Modesto and Mountain View, such as at 3AM, the transit time between the two cities is as short as 90 minutes. Thus, a three to four hour commute doubles the travel time.

Commute traffic

Other factors politicians do not consider when they allow roads to be perpetually clogged are the countless business decisions made by employers. When employees cannot get to work on time, delivery trucks are delayed, and commerce is hindered, business changes plans to improve operations and profitability. Employers may move to another state when they become fed up with inadequate infrastructure. Or they may decide not to expand locally and instead expand elsewhere.

Tesla opened a huge $5 billion battery factory near Reno rather than in the Central Valley or in Fremont, near an existing plant. Undoubtedly, the daily congestion and lack of any hope for infrastructure improvement played an important role in the decision.

Given the inability of Caltrans to rapidly deliver projects, whatever is built with the $5 billion per year in extra gasoline taxes will probably have negligible positive impact on the California economy before the next recession. By then, congestion will abate without an increase in roadway capacity as demand declines for use of commute routes. Roads aren’t needed when citizens aren’t working.

Undoubtedly, the transportation infrastructure deficit will contribute to a deeper recession than otherwise would have been the case. The cumulative negative impact from all the businesses that moved out of state will become very evident: Austin, Texas, and Reno, Nevada, are boom towns, filling up with California businesses.

 

Filed Under: Environment

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. West Sider says

    January 5, 2019 at 5:23 pm

    The 12 cents won’t put a dent
    With the planned housing going into the north san Joaquin valley over the next decade it is going to get much worse. When it finally turns into a semi permanent parking lot, then the bedroom community model will cease and they will have to find another way. We need to be self cc’d sufficient from the bay area

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Enter Captcha Here : *

Reload Image

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

The Extraordinary Danger of Being Pregnant and Uninsured in Texas ? ProPublica
The Extraordinary Danger of Being Pregnant and Uninsured in Texas  ProPublica
Over three years, nearly 400 pregnant or new mothers died in Texas. Its system for helping the uninsured thwarts women at every turn, frustrates doctors and midwives, and incentivizes substandard care.
www.propublica.org
New Trump rule could eliminate food stamps for almost 200,000 Californians | CalMatters
New Trump rule could eliminate food stamps for almost 200,000 Californians | CalMatters
The rule is the first of three Trump-era food stamp cuts to be finalized. Under all three, roughly 3.7 million Americans, including 625,700 Californians, could lose assistance in buying groceries.
calmatters.org
Mercury-Laden Fog May Be Poisoning California?s Mountain Lions
Mercury-Laden Fog May Be Poisoning California’s Mountain Lions
A new study has found that pumas in the Santa Cruz Mountains display higher mercury levels than big cats in inland regions
www.smithsonianmag.com
False Idol -- Why the Christian Right Worships Donald Trump
False Idol — Why the Christian Right Worships Donald Trump
www.rollingstone.com
Income for poorest Americans fell faster than previously thought: study
Income for poorest Americans fell faster than previously thought: study
thehill.com
California to Subsidize Growers’ Labor Camps | Community Alliance
California to Subsidize Growers’ Labor Camps | Community Alliance
By David Bacon (Editor’s note: Reprinted with permission. Originally appeared in Capital and Main, Oct. 4, 2019.) In California, many farmworkers can’t find decent places to live, or even any place at all. When the grape harvest starts in Coachella Valley, families of pickers bed down in the Mecca supermarket parking lot. In Sonoma County ?
fresnoalliance.com
Perspective | I was a drug rep. I know how pharma companies pushed opioids.
Perspective | I was a drug rep. I know how pharma companies pushed opioids.
Wining and dining aside, it’s all about building trust with doctors
www.washingtonpost.com
The One State Taking a Big Run at Health Reform
The One State Taking a Big Run at Health Reform
Washington state just passed the country’s first public option plan, and its difficult birth carries a warning for national reformers.
www.politico.com
One of L.A.?s most powerful politicians is searching for his homeless son ? cameras in tow
One of L.A.’s most powerful politicians is searching for his homeless son, cameras in tow
Herb Wesson, who is running for L.A. County supervisor, has a new campaign ad in which he is seen searching skid row for his homeless son, Doug.
www.latimes.com
This Doctors Group Is Owned by a Private Equity Firm and Repeatedly Sued the Poor Until We Called Them ? ProPublica
This Doctor’s Group Is Owned by a Private Equity Firm and Repeatedly Sued the Poor Until We Called Them: ProPublica
After the Blackstone Group acquired one of the nation’s largest physician staffing firms in 2017, low-income patients faced far more aggressive debt collection lawsuits. They only stopped after ProPublica and MLK50 asked about it.
www.propublica.org

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2019 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design