HOUSTON - It’s around every corner, at the end of almost every exit: the cones, the cranes and the construction.
The portion of the loop between I-10 and Highway 59 is one of the most congested highways in Houston, and now it's the most congested highway in all of Texas.
It’s so busy, 45 percent of its traffic happens outside of rush hour.
There’s got to be a way to make it better, right? It is Texas, so why not make it bigger?
Researchers say bigger isn’t always better when it comes to highways.
Studies have found when life behind the wheel becomes more enjoyable -- meaning life without traffic -- people are more likely to take that route. And those new lanes we just spent millions to build are now full again.
A 2011 study by Brown University professor Matthew Turner used extravagant equations to determine the impact of wider roads.
What he found is when roads are wider, traffic increases for four reasons: changes in driver’s behaviors, changes in commercial trucking, changes in population and diversions from other roads.
Now let’s take a look at the widest road in the world: We don’t have to go far. It’s the Katy Freeway, a whopping 26 lanes across.
Data from Houston Transtar show in 2012, the longest travel time from downtown past Katy Mills Mall took 58 minutes and 39 seconds.
Six years later, that number is up nearly 10 minutes at 68 minutes and 20 seconds.
What that shows is even at 26 lanes, traffic is still increasing, and there’s not much more room to grow.