A cover story article in USNews.com published on May 28, highlights the crisis of traffic gridlock in America. The story, subtitled "Traffic is making millions sick and tired. The bad news? It's going to get worse unless things change in a real big way," cites a "blizzard of brand-new data (that) confirms just how bad congestion has become."

Here's some of that data:

Since 1982, while the U.S. population has grown nearly 20 percent, the time Americans spend in traffic has jumped an amazing 236 percent.

• In major American cities, the length of the combined morning-evening rush hour has doubled, from under three hours in 1982 to almost six hours today.
• The average driver now spends the equivalent of nearly a full workweek each year stuck in traffic.
• Congestion costs Americans $78 billion a year in wasted fuel and lost time&endash;up 39 percent since 1990.
• Truckers&endash;and the businesses that depend on them&endash;say clogged roads are choking off economic growth and reducing the nation's competitiveness.
• Commercial truck travel increased by 37 percent during the 1990s. By 2020, it's expected to double in most parts of the country.
• Studies repeatedly show that people making long commutes are at a higher risk for a host of maladies. High blood pressure, sleep deprivation, and depression top the list.
• On a typical day, the average married mother with school-age children spends 66 minutes driving&endash;taking more than five trips and covering 29 miles.
• According to the most recent federal data, the amount of time mothers spend behind the wheel increased by 11 percent just between 1990 and 1995, and there's every indication that the trend is continuing.
• Moms spend more time driving than they spend dressing, bathing, and feeding a child.
• Stressed-out commuters with little time for loved ones also don't have much time for community involvement.
• Some 42,000 people are killed in auto crashes each year, and 3 million are injured.
• Washington, D.C., once dubbed the murder capital of America, turns out to be a far less dangerous place to live than several of its sprawling, distant suburbs. That's because of the lower risk Washington residents have of being killed while driving.
• Suburbs are becoming less attractive places to live. Cities are becoming more attractive. A recent study by the Milken Institute, a think tank in Santa Monica, confirms that aging downtowns and former warehouse districts are often outpacing surrounding suburban locations as magnets of high-tech employment.
• Many businesses, when deciding where to locate, now give increased consideration to traffic conditions and commuting times.

The good news! "After a half century of decline, ridership on mass transit is up dramatically. Survey data show more people are forsaking their cars for subway, train, and light-rail alternatives."

Ridership on the nation's public transportation systems has grown by 21 percent since 1995 (compared with an 11 percent increase in driving) and is now at the highest levels in more than 40 years.

And, consider this. "Last November, there were 553 state and local measures on ballots dealing with transportation and growth issues. According to the Brookings Institution, 85 percent of the initiatives calling for more mass transit and alternative types of transportation passed."

The article goes on to ask the all important question: "Will building new highways help people who don't want to use mass transit or who can't afford to live where it's available?" Citing more statistics and traffic projections the article flat out says NO.

Congestion worsens as highways widen. "Build a new road, and sprawling new development will soon spring up to take advantage of the land that becomes accessible," says the authors.

Finally the article quotes a recent survey sponsored by Smart Growth America, a new coalition of public-interest groups, which asked a cross section of Americans: "Which of the following proposals is the best long-term solution to reducing traffic in your state? Build new roads; improve public transportation, such as adding trains, buses and light rail; or develop communities where people do not have to drive long distances to work or shop."

• Drivers in Los Angeles spend an average of 56 hours a year - more than a work week - stuck in traffic. In Atlanta, the figure is 53 hours, double that of just seven years ago.
• Americans spend three times as much time in traffic as they did 20 years ago.
• The Texas Transportation Institute, in its annual report on congestion in 68 urban areas, found that the average person spent 36 hours a year sitting in traffic in 1999, up from 11 hours in 1982.
• All this congestion comes with a price: $78 billion a year in wasted time and burned gasoline.
• Increased congestion has also led to a rise in road rage.
• Los Angeles had the worst congested highways in the country, costing residents an estimated $1,000 per person in wasted time and wasted gas as they spent 56 more hours a year on crowded freeways than they would have had to spend on the roads if traffic moved freely.
• In the nation's most populous urban area, New York City and its suburbs, the average resident sits in traffic an extra 34 hours a year and spends an average of $595 in wasted time and burning gas.
• In the Atlanta area, where the population grew by more than one-third between 1990 and 2000, the number of hours motorists sat in traffic more than doubled from 25 in 1992 to 53 in 1999. In 1982, the average Atlantan sat in traffic for just 11 hours.
• Nashville, Tenn., which saw its population rise by a quarter over the last decade, saw its congestion follow suit. The average resident there spent 42 extra hours in traffic in 1999, up from 15 hours seven years earlier.
• In the San Francisco-Oakland region, residents spent an average of 42 hours a year in traffic in 1999, up from 38 hours in 1997.