(Washington, DC)

The Washington, D.C. metro area has the worst commute in the country. Drivers in the metro D.C. area spend an average of three days per year in bumper to bumper traffic, according to 2011 rankings from Texas A&M University released this morning.

Chicago and and Los Angeles ranked second and third in the traffic congestion study, with 71 hours and 64 hours, respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 list are Houston (57), New York (54), Baltimore (52), San Francisco (50), Denver (49), Boston (47) and Dallas (45).

The TTI survey shows nationally, commuters spend 34 hours sitting in traffic. That means both Chicago and Washington motorists are stuck in traffic at more than double the national average.

What does all this mean?

For one, it means that some 37 gallons of fuel per car are being wasted in traffic jams in the Washington Area. The cost of that fuel, added to wages lost, hits Washington area commuters in the wallet to the tune of nearly $1500 a year. That’s not to mention the cost of lost productivity and the effect that highway stress can have on individuals.

2010’s rate of 74 hours lost on the roadways is an improvement over the 2007 number, when commuters were left idling an average of 89 hours.

There are efforts underway to create some congestion relief in the DC area, the Intercounty Connector in Maryland, the Beltway high-occupancy toll lanes and the extension of transit rail in Virginia and several smaller projects, but officials fear that none of it is enough.

Projections by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and its transportation oversight committee, suggest that without significant investment in highways and transit, congestion could stifle the region’s desire to grow. By 2030, the regional population is estimated to increase by 1.2 million, newcomers drawn by 874,000 new jobs.

And with Congress in a belt-tightening mood, it seems that there will be little in the way of funding support to move meaningful projects forward.

The TTI report says congestion cost Americans more than $100 billion in 2010. That compares to an inflation adjusted $24 billion in 1982. Engines idling in traffic burned 1.9 billion gallons of gasoline. The researchers suggest that the number would increase to 2.5 billion gallons and delays would cost $133 billion by 2015.