Green-blue gradient over photo of highway bridge over river. Source: Federal Highway Administration

Strategies to expand capacity

Roadway capacity strategies add infrastructure to address traffic that cannot be effectively managed through other means. These projects may include adding lanes, constructing new interchanges, or building bypass routes, particularly to address freight travel, interregional trips, and safety or operational challenges. Given their higher costs and longer implementation timelines, capacity expansions are generally considered only after other strategies have proven insufficient.