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Page 9 · column 1 of 4 · from the scan, no model involved
TRAFFIC on Virginia’s major highways decreased in 1974, the first year since World War II that traffic volumes went down instead of up. Preliminary estimates place the 1974 volume at approximately 1.7 per cent below the level for 1973, says the State Department of Highways and Transportation.
J.P. Mills, Jr., the department’s traffic and safety engineer, said a final analysis of the past year’s traffic volumes won’t be completed for some weeks. But he said the preliminary estimate isn’t likely to change significantly.
Over the past three decades, traffic generally has increased at an average of approximately five per cent annually. In 1973, volumes were up 6.6 per cent over the previous year. But, Mills said, the energy crisis and accompanying reductions in the use of motor fuel changed all of that last year.
97.5%