We wasted more than 38 million gallons last year due to traffic. That's according to a report released Tuesday from the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M.
The study examined 328 of the most congested stretches of highway in the nation and ranked roadways based on the amount of fuel wasted due to congestion.
Environmentalists say California lawmakers and regulators have taken steps to reduce the state's notorious congestion, but urban sprawl and an increase in freight being transported through the state have countered the efforts.
"The issue in Los Angeles is you've got so much traffic congestion, the things that they're doing are having an effect, but it's such a big problem that it's difficult to fix," said Tim Lomax, a research engineer for the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University.
The report shows seven of the country's top 10 fuel-wasting roadways were in Los Angeles.
Some of the top offenders include the northbound 110 Freeway from the Imperial Highway to the Stadium Way exit. The I-405 between the I-105 and Getty Center Drive is also one of the worst stretches.
The top offender, a 27-mile southbound stretch of U.S. 101, accounted for 485,000 hours of delay-per-mile and more than 6 million wasted gallons of fuel last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this study.
