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Boston Congestion Data Sets Stage for Infrastructure Choices
City leaders weigh transit upgrades and road projects as traffic delays match pre-pandemic peaks.
How we reported this
Boston drivers lose an average of 79 hours each year to traffic and $1,414 in wasted time and fuel, placing the city 12th globally and fourth-worst in the United States for congestion.
The return of full pre-pandemic delays on Storrow Drive, I-93, I-90 and airport tunnel roads has focused attention on how the city will spend new federal and state dollars on both roads and transit. Peak weekday rush periods run from 7:00 AM to 9:30 AM and 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM, with the heaviest backups between 7-9 AM and 4-6 PM.
Transit Options for Daily Commuters
The MBTA runs five subway lines, 177 bus routes, five Silver Line routes, commuter rail to 137 stations and eight ferry terminals, with most service operating from 5 AM to 1 AM. Riders can pay $1.70 with a CharlieCard on buses or subways, or $2.40 with a CharlieTicket or cash on subways. Unlimited 24-hour passes cost $11 and seven-day passes cost $22.50.
Those fares and schedules give commuters concrete alternatives on days when Storrow Drive or the Massachusetts Turnpike slow to a crawl. The system already carries riders across every neighborhood without overnight subway service.
Funded Projects Now Under Way
Boston is receiving approximately $2 million in federal funding to reconnect the two sides of Mattapan Square with improved pedestrian and transit links. The city also has $31.5 million in construction scheduled for completion in 2026 on Cummins Highway, covering road reconstruction, traffic signals and new pedestrian ramps. The MBTA awarded Skanska a $1.06 billion contract for the North Station Draw One Bridge replacement, and the Healey-Driscoll Administration secured $335.4 million for the Allston Multimodal Project.
The FY26-30 Capital Plan adds nearly $136 million for street reconstruction and sidewalk accessibility across all neighborhoods. These figures come directly from city transportation records and set the concrete choices facing planners in the coming months.
Officials must now decide sequencing, contractor milestones and any adjustments to the Mattapan and Allston work before the 2026 construction season ends. The same records show how those decisions will shape travel times on the routes that currently produce the longest daily delays.