Limiting Local Trips On The Interstate

"Despite some Tallahassee area residents' calls for more access ramps to Interstate 10, transportation planners say there are no plans to add any on existing roads," said Harry Reed, the executive director of the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency.

"Reed said planners want more interconnecting roads throughout the region to limit commuters using the interstate as a local road.

"The more you add to (the interstate)," Reed said, "the more it's going to get clogged."

Traffic counts conducted on I-10 showed that an average of 50,500 people drove past a point near U.S. 27 (Monroe Street), a mid-point through town, every day in 2006. Far fewer were counted at the city limits: 37,500 west of Capital Circle Northwest and 28,000 near U.S. 90 on the other side of town.

"A lot of locals are using I-10," said Tommie Speights, a spokesman for the department. "That's what's causing the congestion."

That's not what interstates are for, Reed said."