As the number of miles logged on the US Interstate Highway System continued to increase dramatically over the past decade, many major metropolitan areas have seen traffic and commuting times grow rapidly. Certain cities, such as Atlanta (among others), are having particularly difficult coping with this problem, as they have little or no effective means of public transportation. To address these problems, policy makers have suggested a variety of remedies, from allowing employees to work at the branch office closest to their home to staggering start times for the work day. While it remains to be seen how exactly different metropolitan regions will cope with this problem, most experts agree that it will most likely continue to get worse for some time.

The first link leads to an article dealing with recent traffic congestion problems faced by Atlanta and other major urbanized areas in the United States. The second site is the home of The Road Information Program, a nonprofit corporation that conducts research and writes reports on highway congestion, safety, and transportation policy. The third link is to a report on dealing with the question of sprawl in the Atlanta metropolitan region, produced by the Brookings Institution and released in 2000. The fourth link is to Innovative Transportation Technologies, which features information about a host of non-automobile technologies designed to meet the needs of moving people and goods more effectively. The fifth site provides information on the historical development of the US highway system from 1924 to the present day, complete with descriptions about older roads that were incorporated into the emerging national transportation network. Until these traffic problems get better, the last two sites will be quite helpful and provide at least some measure of solace. Metrocommute.com provides real-time information on highway commuting times in the New York, LA, San Francisco, Houston, and Hartford areas; and Drivenice.com provides information for those seeking to lessen frustration from traffic and deal with impolite and discourteous drivers.