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Congestion Management Process

The Congestion Management Process (CMP) is a planning document that Metropolitan Planning Organizations serving Transportation Management Areas (TMAs), urbanized areas with populations greater than 200,000 people, are required to develop. The CMP is used to guide other MPO planning studies, measures, and programming decisions. The CMP involves establishing regional objectives, developing multimodal performance measures, collecting data and monitoring system performance, identifying strategies, and evaluating strategy effectiveness. The CMP aligns with the broader goals and objectives for transportation in the Merrimack Valley established in the region’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), MV Vision 2050.

Congestion Management Process (2025)

CMP Key Takeaways

Based on an analysis of existing conditions, the CMP identifies the following congestion problems and needs:

Highly congested conditions and traffic bottlenecks at noted locations during peak periods

  • The top-ranking Interstate bottleneck locations are concentrated in the western portion of the Merrimack Valley region, with 24 of the top 25 Interstate bottleneck locations in the region along I-93 and I-495 in Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, and Haverhill.
  • The top-ranking non-interstate bottleneck locations are largely located on principal arterials, with 18 of the top 20 non-interstate bottlenecks being located on principal arterials (including Routes 1, 28, 97, 114, 125, 133, and 213). Principal arterials such as these routes connect communities throughout the region. Reducing congestion and improving multimodal transportation options along these corridors is important for improving regional connectivity.

Gaps in the sidewalk network

  • 4% of roadway segments in the Merrimack Valley region (excluding Interstates, ramps, Route 213, and state park or forest roads) have sidewalks. Major collectors and local roads constitute the lowest percentage roads with sidewalks at 35.0% and 29.9% respectively
  • Increasing the percentage of road segments with sidewalks can help replace some auto trips with walking trips, reducing roadway congestion.

Significant share of trips to work and short trips for all purposes taken by private vehicles

  • Per 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, more than 79% of commute trips were made by car, truck or van.
  • Per Replica data for the typical weekday in Spring 2024, 50.65% of trips 0.5-1 mile were made by private auto.
  • Promoting non-auto modes such as transit, walking, and biking can help reduce roadway congestion.

Need for improved transit travel time competitiveness and regional connectivity

  • Comparing job accessibility for Merrimack Valley residents traveling by private auto and by transit, based on Accessibility Observatory data, reveals vast differences between the number of jobs accessible by private auto versus the number of jobs accessible by transit.
  • Improving travel time competitiveness between transit and auto trips and increasing the number of destinations accessible by transit can help replace car trips with transit trips and reduce roadway congestion.

 

Management Strategies

MVMPO staff will track the multimodal performance measures established in the CMP, as updated data becomes available. Performance measures and target trends are as follows:

  • Increases in MeVa Transit total ridership and unlinked passenger trips per vehicle revenue mile and vehicle revenue hour
  • Increases in MBTA Commuter Rail ridership on lines serving the Merrimack Valley
  • Increases in non-SOV commuting, including increases in travel to work by walking, biking, public transportation, and carpooling
  • Decreases in mean travel time to work
  • Increases in the percentage of short trips (0-1 mile) made by walking and biking
  • Increases in the overall percentage of roadway with sidewalks
  • Decreases in average daily miles driven and total daily miles driven by vehicles registered in the Merrimack Valley region