The thing about many congested places in New England, especially along the coast, is that the towns are old colonial towns, not built for cars. There's very little they can do to improve infrastructure. They are more like European towns/burbs/cities where people rely on mass transport for movement. You look at some of these coastal towns and there is absolutely no straight way through because of the coast. Think of driving up through Marblehead, Gloucester, Salem, Newburyport, etc. Rhode Island is even worse. You look across a bay and it feels like if you threw a rock across the water, it might land on the opposite bank, but if you want to drive there, it's 45 minutes.