TomTom, a technology and mapping company, has released its annual Traffic Index, showing how bad traffic is in cities across the United States. 

The new study found that Philadelphia traffic is the 8th worst in the nation, reports Joe Brandt for CBS News Philadelphia. 

According to PennDOT spokesperson Brad Rudolph, the agency is doing work to alleviate traffic in the region.

Projects currently in the works include allowing travel on a current shoulder lane on parts of I-76, and other tech-based efforts like trying to take control of traffic lights that let people onto the highways.

“We have a lot of projects to address some of the congestion we’re seeing, certainly at interchanges, some capacity-adding projects, but mostly just using newer strategies and technological advances to improve…critical corridors,” Rudolph said.

PennDOT is also trying to make traffic better by making efforts to avoid construction during peak hours.

Rudolph highlighted that there are stretches of the highway that have between 120,000 and 200,000 vehicles per day. 

According to TomTom, it took Philadelphia drivers 15 minutes and 40 seconds to travel 10 kilometers in 2023, compared to about 12 minutes across the metro area. 

It also noted that the average driver in Philadelphia spends 146 hours in their car.

Read more about the realities facing Philadelphia drivers in CBS News Philadelphia. 

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