Building your way out of congestion is a lost cause. Every expensive new highway lane just invites people to drive more (see: Texas’s Katy Freeway).
But states can still tackle congestion with transportation demand management — incentives that make other options besides solo driving more appealing.
Washington’s Commute Trip Reductions program requires employers with more than 100 staff in densely populated areas to use incentives like free transit passes or putting a price on parking. Not only is this far more cost effective than road-building, it prevents the vicious cycle of more highway capacity causing more traffic.