BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Drivers across the Lehigh Valley spent more time than ever sitting in traffic last year, according to new data from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s 2025 Urban Mobility Report.
The annual study, which ranks congestion across hundreds of metro areas, placed Allentown (colloquially, the Lehigh Valley or Allentown PA-NJ) at No. 75 out of 101 for total delay, on par with other medium-sized regions.
The total delay for the area came in at 15,292,000 hours, or 7% more than 2023. It was the area's highest rank for “annual hours of delay” going back to 1982.
"The numbers show more traffic than we’ve ever seen."David Schrank, TTI senior research scientist and lead author
On average, each commuter in the Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton area lost 36 hours to gridlock in 2024 and burned 12 gallons of fuel idling on congested roads.
But stacked against the national average, the idling doesn’t seem so bad.
The report said Americans collectively lost an average of 63 hours sitting in traffic in 2024 — the highest level ever measured.
That's the equivalent of nearly eight full workdays lost to traffic and a 16% increase in national congestion costs over the past five years, now totaling $269 billion annually.
“The numbers show more traffic than we’ve ever seen, but also a different kind of traffic,” David Schrank, TTI senior research scientist and lead author of the study, said in a news release.
“Hybrid work capabilities, online shopping and other changes in our daily lives have reshaped when and where congestion happens. This can create more unpredictability and make travel harder to plan."
The total economic cost of congestion in the Lehigh Valley reached an estimated $421 million last year, or about $832 per driver in lost productivity and wasted fuel.
That figure was lower than the national average for cities or regions of a similar size ($1,143 per commuter) but still is a significant hit for an area where average commute times and freight movement continue to grow.
A daily grind for Valley commuters
The report estimates that traffic congestion occurs about 1.7 hours each day across the Lehigh Valley, with delays distributed between highways and city streets.
Peak-hour congestion accounted for nearly two-thirds of total delay, with 41% on arterial streets and 23% on highways.
All told, vehicles in the region traveled about 6.8 million miles on highways and 6.3 million miles on local streets in 2024.Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s 2025 Urban Mobility Report
Congestion delays occurred most often at or around 4 p.m. on weekdays, particularly Thursdays and Fridays.
A trip that should take 20 minutes in free-flowing traffic took 23 minutes during typical congestion, according to the report, and drivers had to plan for as much as 27 minutes of travel to ensure on-time arrival.
All told, vehicles in the region traveled about 6.8 million miles on highways and 6.3 million miles on local streets in 2024.
Truck traffic adds to the toll
Freight movement continued to play a major role in local congestion, the report said.
The truck-based congestion, or data covering commercial trucks, said it accounted for 5% of all delays in the region but represented 14% of total congestion costs.
Truck delays totaled 801,000 hours in 2024 — up 10% from the previous year — translating to roughly $60 million in lost value and 827,000 gallons of diesel fuel wasted.
The report lists the Lehigh Valley as 75th nationally for truck congestion costs and 83rd for truck fuel waste.
What else is behind the backup?
Transportation analysts point to the region’s continued population and logistics growth as key drivers of road congestion.
The Lehigh Valley’s central position along Interstate 78, Route 22 and Route 33 makes it a critical freight corridor connecting New York and New Jersey to Pennsylvania’s interior — but also a chokepoint during peak hours, the report concluded.
The average value of commuter time was estimated at $24.01 per hour, while the commercial value of truck time reached $80.16 per hour, highlighting the economic consequences for minor slowdowns.
Moderate but rising congestion
Compared with larger metro areas, the Lehigh Valley’s congestion levels remain moderate, but the trend is edging upward.
In the past decade, local vehicle miles traveled have continued to climb, and average commute times also have jumped.
Researchers say even mid-sized metros like the Lehigh Valley are experiencing “big city” traffic patterns as regional freight hubs expand and suburban development spreads farther from employment centers.
The 2025 Urban Mobility Report is produced annually by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and is one of the nation’s most-cited studies on travel delay, fuel waste and economic impacts from roadway congestion.
The report analyzed a total of 494 U.S. urban areas (split among very large, large, medium, small and other populations).
In addition to measuring delay, researchers also examined auto trip origin-destination data to describe and measure where people are traveling.
