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The Associated General Contractors of America recently surveyed 1,200 construction firms across the United States on the impact of traffic congestion.
Not surprisingly, traffic congestion does possess a negative financial impact on construction companies. In Washington, 72 percent of construction projects are delayed at least one day because of traffic.
Here is a sample of questions comparing results in Washington to the national average:
| AGC TRAFFIC SURVEY | ||
| NATIONAL | WASHINGTON | |
| What impact does traffic congestion and shipping unreliability have on your business? | ||
| No impact on operations | 7% | 7% |
| Occasional impact on operations | 40% | 25% |
| Frequent impact on operations | 31% | 36% |
| Significant impact on operations | 22% | 32% |
| How much is your cost of doing business increased by delays, wasted fuel and other impacts caused by traffic congestion? | ||
| No, it is not impacted | 8% | 4% |
| Yes, less than one percent | 19% | 11% |
| Yes, one to five percent | 44% | 46% |
| Yes, six to ten percent | 20% | 28% |
| Yes, eleven percent or more | 9% | 11% |
| Estimate the total number of hours of lost productivity per worker caused by traffic delays and congestion. | ||
| Not at all | 8% | 7% |
| Less than 10 hours per worker per year | 28% | 11% |
| Between 10 and 20 hours per worker per year | 28% | 34% |
| Between 21 and 30 hours per worker per year | 14% | 11% |
| More than 30 hours per worker per year | 22% | 37% |
| Have you made changes to schedules or business operations to adjust to traffic congestion and unreliable shipping schedules? | ||
| Yes | 59% | 63% |
| No | 41% | 37% |
| Estimate the additional number of days it takes to complete a project because of the impacts of traffic congestion. | ||
| No delay | 28% | 28% |
| One to two days | 37% | 43% |
| Three to four days | 15% | 11% |
| Five or more days | 20% | 18% |