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Abstract
Is the design and construction of four (4) lane highways still a viable option for those living in an urbanized environment; only for the State Departments of Transportation to return years later to construct additional lanes (e.g., the Baltimore-Washington Parkway) and create even more extensive commuter/travel delays? With vehicles only getting larger and with more and more families moving farther away from the Central Business District (CBD), it may be time to discontinue the design and construction of the four lane highway in lieu of the six/eight lane highway(s) as the standard. This paper does not see the continued use of four lane highways as a viable option for an urbanized environment and hypothesizes that state Departments of Transportation use the design and construction of six and eight lane highways as the recommended standard. Several case studies are presented from Maryland and Virginia in support of the hypothesis.