Houston isn’t just home to Texas’ most congested highway. The city also led other large Texas metros in the number of roads with bumper-to-bumper traffic in 2024.
A state analysis examined more than 2,100 road segments covering more than 10,000 miles across Texas’ urban areas. Nearly every road in the 100 most congested stretches is located in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.
The Houston area accounts for 36 of the state’s most congested road segments, including most of the top 10. The Dallas area has 28, the Fort Worth area has 13, the San Antonio area has 10 and the Austin area has nine.
El Paso, another large Texas city, had only one road segment on the worst congestion list. Only four were located outside of the large metro areas.
West Loop 610 in Houston remained the state’s most congested road segment. However, researchers found that Interstate 35 appears more often than any other highway on the state’s congestion list.
Researchers didn’t identify a single cause for congestion across Texas, but pointed to a mix of growth, heavy traffic demand, construction, development and off-peak delays on major metro corridors.
Do you live in a Texas city where you feel like you’re always stuck in traffic, especially during peak hours? Check the Houston Chronicle’s interactive maps for the most congested stretches.