Your own link says it's less absolute than you're making it out to be: > A comparison of congestion data from 1982 to 2011 by the Texas A&M Transportation Inst

Your own link says it's less absolute than you're making it out to be: > A comparison of congestion data from 1982 to 2011 by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute clearly demonstrated that additional roadways reduced the rate of congestion increase. When increases in road capacity were matched to the increase demand, growth in congestion was found to be much lower. > ... one study ... found that "over a six- to eight-year period following freeway expansion, around twenty percent of added capacity is 'preserved,' and around eighty percent gets absorbed or depleted. Half of this absorption is due to external factors, like growing population and income ... Though it is likely true that expanding metro lines into VA would be more cost-effective here.