'Never Thought I'd Miss Traffic': Highway Volume Picking Up Again Across Massachusetts
BOSTON (CBS) -- The familiar sight of bumper-to-bumper traffic is returning to highways across Massachusetts. The number of cars on state highways has increased substantially since last spring when the state went into lockdown, according to recent traffic volume data.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said traffic volume in the spring of 2020 dropped 60% compared to the same time in 2019.
Now compare that to the average volume last week, which was only down about 12% compared to spring of 2019.
Katherine Korakas of Wellesley said if there was one benefit to the lockdown, it was being able to get around without so much traffic. "It has actually been kind of nice," she said, "just to know that you can get somewhere in just a couple of minutes instead of an entire hour."
Cooper Brown of Medfield thinks the added cars on the road are a good sign that we are turning the corner on the pandemic. "Sitting in traffic is not super fun, but it's definitely nice knowing that things will hopefully start opening up," said Brown.
Robert Beams of Weston never thought he'd said this — but he's happy to see traffic again. "I think I never thought I'd miss traffic as much," Beams said. "Shows people are getting back to normal so it's always a plus."
Nationwide, traffic volume is also picking up. Last week it was down only about 6% compared to the same week in 2019.
