Baton Rouge drivers have grown accustomed to the red glow of brake lights and blaring horns in traffic as the sun goes down over the Mississippi River.And now Baton Rouge traffic is a nationally recognized problem.While drivers nationwide spent an average of 13 fewer hours stuck in traffic in 2008 than during 2007, Baton Rouge saw a 6 percent increase in overall    traffic congestion last year, according to the 2008 Inrix National Traffic Scorecard, an annual report of traffic congestion.Baton Rouge, with a population rank of 67 in the U.S., ranked 33rd for the worst traffic congestion in the nation.  But the excessive traffic congestion may be a sign of good news for the area.”Although nobody loves traffic, in this particular case, it could be a positive [from an economic perspective],” said Scott Sedlik, vice president of marketing for Inrix. “It means that consumers are going to the malls. They’re making trips to the stores. Businesses are building products and shipping products.”The national 30 percent decrease in traffic congestion is attributed to the sluggish economy and rising unemployment rates, Sedlik said. Don Redman, Louisiana AAA spokesman, said Louisiana’s economy — and traffic patterns — are defying the national trend.”The general concerns of the state of the economy has people staying closer to home,” Redman said of the national trend. “What we have found is that it’s the state of the economy that has people driving more so than just the price of gasoline.”Concerns of job security have a seemingly direct effect on people’s travel decisions, Redman said. The Scorecard aggregates data collected from automobiles with on-board Global Positioning Systems and from Departments of Transportation and Development throughout the country to identify the 100 most congested cities and the 1,000 worst traffic bottlenecks in the country, Sedlik said.  Six Baton Rouge traffic bottlenecks, or points of traffic congestion, were ranked in the 1,000 worst bottlenecks nationwide, according to the Scorecard. The intersection of I-12 eastbound and Millerville Road is ranked 441st among the 1,000 worst traffic bottlenecks. The intersections of I-12 eastbound and O’Neal Lane, I-10 eastbound and I-110, I-10 westbound and Bluebonnet Road, I-12 eastbound and South Sherwood Forest Blvd. and I-110 southbound and Government Street round out the Baton Rouge bottlenecks ranked among the nation’s 1,000 worst bottlenecks.”Unless you have the funds to update your infrastructure, people are going to be stuck in traffic,” said Mark Lambert, communications director with Louisiana’s Department of Transportation and Development. “Our infrastructure is terribly behind the needs in Louisiana … All of it comes down to a matter of money.”For every gallon of gasoline purchased by consumers, Lambert said the state gets $0.16 for infrastructure improvement. For instance, a 12-gallon tank would provide the state with $1.92.”Price of gas has gone up tremendously,” Lambert said. “When gas costs more, you conserve. It’s almost counterintuitive.”The state receives the same amount of money per gallon — $0.16 — regardless of the price of gas, Lambert said. A project to widen I-12 is scheduled to begin construction in the next month, according to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. The $100 million project will widen I-12 to six lanes in both directions. Another project will widen I-10 to six lanes from the I-10 and I-12 split to about 1,500 feet past Siegen Lane. The project will cost about $85 million, Lambert said. Lambert attributed the Mississippi River Bridge as the cause for problems on I-10, I-12 and I-110.”Everything narrows down to two lanes,” Lambert said. “You start restricting the traffic flow.”Brian Wolshon, civil and environmental engineering professor, said traffic problems are an example of “supply and demand.””Whenever you make an improvement and traffic starts to move better … People recognize that, and it attracts more traffic to that particular location,” Wolshon said.The intersection of Highland Road and West Parker Boulevard is a locale Wolshon said is a prime example of demand outweighing supply at peak traffic hours.”What you have here is you just have the old situation of three pounds of cars in a two-pound bag,” Wolshon said. “That’s a case where there’s not a whole lot of capacity improvements you can make there.”—-Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]