Your point about recession is interesting. As we came out of the previous recession after the crash in 07/08, I noticed commute times increasing in the DC metro

Your point about recession is interesting. As we came out of the previous recession after the crash in 07/08, I noticed commute times increasing in the DC metro area. My argument is and has been that highway lane miles have never met demand. More lanes bring more cars simply because the other routes we're equally congested/slow before and now there's a slightly better option with the new mega highway.