The United States drove 1.58 trillion miles in the first half of 2016

We’re all a bunch of highway astronauts.

staff photo
Cars speed by on I-70 in between residential swaths of Globeville. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

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Cars speed by on I-70 in between residential swaths of Globeville. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

As a nation, we’ve already been to Pluto and back 250 times in our cars this year, says the Federal Highway Administration. Contemplate that as you consider your impending commute. We’re all a bunch of highway astronauts.

Preliminary estimates suggest that people travelled through Colorado 3.7 percent more than last June and 3.5 percent more than last May. You’ll of course recall that our state funding increased not enough percent in 2016.

More importantly, in terms of getting to Pluto, Colorado has almost traveled to Pluto once during June. Also known as 4.33 billion miles here on Earth.

Amongst our brethren in the West, the May and June increase is pretty… middle of the road. Alaska saw the smallest increases and actually decreased the miles travelled during May. Hawaii logged the largest increases with increases of 6 and 8.6 percent, in May and June respectively.

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Denverite members have made the decision to financially support local journalism that matters to you. Ready to tell your networks why? Sharing our “About” page with your own personal comments could really help us out.