How bad is Phoenix area traffic compared to the rest of nation?

PHOENIX — If you find yourself frustrated over the amount of traffic in the Phoenix area, we have good news for you: It could be worse.

The traffic in the Phoenix area ranked above nearly 20 other U.S. metropolitan cities, according to Inrix’s 2017 traffic scorecard.

The so-called traffic scorecard measured how long often people are stuck in traffic in that area. Phoenix, it found, was the 25th-most congested city in the nation.

Phoenix also ranked as the 63rd-most congested metropolitan city in the world, compared to its ranking last year at No. 54.

The average driver in Phoenix spent about 34 hours in congestion during the peak times on the road last year. In comparison, that number spiked to 102 hours for the Los Angeles area.

Eric Anderson with the Maricopa Association of Government’s transportation department told KTAR News 92.3 FM that the city has some congestion, mostly during rush hour, but compared to other areas it is doing pretty well.

But Anderson said Phoenix had some infrastructure challenges to overcome, including working on improving the highway, road and public transportation systems.

“We need to keep up with growth and keep traffic moving,” he said.

Anderson said city transportation officials are also working to clear crashes off the road faster.

Crashes that occur on freeways during rush hour, even if they are minor, can cause major delays. So if workers can get those cleaned up faster, highways can return to normal conditions faster, he said.

Transportation officials also want to experiment with using technology to provide better traffic information for drivers so they can make better decisions and ultimately save time, Anderson said.

KTAR News’ Jeremy Foster and Nailea Leon contributed to this report.

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