If you drive on the I-80 often, pay attention! You’ve likely noticed ongoing construction work there. It turns out that construction work is part of a controversy that might lead to worse congestion on the highway.

The state’s Department of Transportation, Caltrans, was in the news recently for allegedly demoting an employee, Jeanie Ward-Waller, for planning to file a whistleblower complaint. Ward-Waller, who was deputy director of planning and modal programs at the time, alleged that Caltrans mischaracterized the ongoing Yolo I-80 Corridor Improvement Project as ‘pavement rehabilitation,’ when in actuality it was a road widening project for adding new highway lanes.

The Davis Enterprise reported on this controversy on October 15, interviewing transportation experts here at UC Davis. Professor Stephen Wheeler agreed that the I-80 project (which is visible to anyone driving along the highway) was not merely doing rehabilitation and maintenance work; Professor Susan Handy, director of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation (NCST), was quoted as saying, “The community should be asking questions.”

The controversy is significant for two notable reasons: first, Caltrans may have broken the law by misusing road maintenance funds for this project, if it really was a road widening project. Second, widening the road in preparation for adding new highway lanes may actually lead to more congestion, which Caltrans is ignoring.

If you’re wondering how on earth adding more lanes will increase congestion, you’re in luck! UC Davis researchers have studied this for a long time. The phenomenon is known as ‘induced demand,’ which is a scarier-sounding term than it actually is. All it means is: if you provide more services, more people will use it. If you’ve ever taken an economics class, this is basic supply and demand.

In the context of highways, adding new lanes will improve speed and travel time in the short term. This decreased ‘cost of driving’ will encourage more people to use the highway, including people who otherwise didn’t drive, or who drove on alternate routes. In the long term (according to one NCST report, within 3 to 10 years), congestion will actually become worse from all those added drivers!

Assuming you’re anti-congestion (I hope you are), you may be wondering what exactly you can do about it. Maybe you’re still having trouble understanding the controversy and induced demand and want to learn more. You’ve got just the opportunity to do that in a couple months. The Davis Futures Forum plans to hold a teach-in during January 2024 about the I-80, congestion solutions, and mobility issues, with Dr. Susan Handy as keynote speaker!