The US has largely abandoned new road construction which IMO is a large part of the issue. There is an old saying you can't build your way out of congestion, but it really does work in many areas. Just look at a small town building a bypass.

The problem is when congestion is so bad it's suppressing trips there is a middle ground when improvements are less obvious. That and city's need to be designated to absorb highway traffic or highways just end up as expensive parking lots.