|
The roads are over capacity (especially south of boston) and something needs to be done to alleviate potential gridlock so allowing breakdown lane travel during peak hours is done to increase capacity. On a two lane highway, allowing breakdown lane traffic increases the roadway capacity by 50% (not considering losses due to weaves and people just being afraid to drive with someone close to them) which is gonna save you a hell of a lot more than a few minutes per commute. The only other solutions are widening the roadway which everyone would bitch about paying for (well over $1 million dollars per mile not including bridge reconstruction which will run another couple of million dollars each) and siting in traffic during a few years during construction or simply doing nothing in which case everyone would bitch that the state is doing nothing to address the aging and outdated infrastructure. The state does not have the money to fix everything (and the feds aren't exactly throwing money our way after the big dig).
|