IT is rush hour and the expressway traffic is crawling.

"And if we started directing expressway traffic to a local road, say Sunrise Highway, those roads are not meant for such traffic," she said.

But underneath the roar of factory machinery, home construction and expressway traffic is the clang of a moral clash.

"I won't work for you again," I said as he gave the irate drivers behind him a friendly wave and merged onto expressway traffic.

He points out that he has returned to live on Long Island, although not with the hum of expressway traffic in his ears.

The very problem lies within the expressway itself-massive traffic.

On the other hand, recent improvements brought about as part of the infamous Big Dig project have improved expressway traffic within Boston's city limits.

SO far, alternative fuel vehicles have tended to be commuter cars so underpowered that they can barely keep up with expressway traffic.

The driver asked casually as we moved into the expressway traffic.

"It's a matter of guessing right," he said a few miles later, pointing to an overpass where expressway traffic was creeping again.