Costs Of Traffic Jams In Denver Comes In At $1.6B

DENVER (CBS4) - A new study reveals traffic jams don't only waste time, they cost big money.

The report by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute says traffic congestion cost Americans $121 billion in 2011!

So how well did Colorado do?

The study ranked the Denver/Aurora area as 15th worst in the nation. They say our traffic congestion wasted $1.6 billion last year, a number basically unchanged from the year before.

Where do they get these numbers? Well, they take what your time is worth and tack onto that the cost of wasted fuel and come up with a dollar amount.

For the Mile High City that's about $937 per driver.

Washington DC was the city that wasted the most time and money, but we didn't need a study to tell us that.

Colorado Springs ranked 77th, Boulder came in at 101st.

That congestion cost Boulder drivers more than $100 million in 2011.