Preserving South Florida as an ideal place to work and live depends not in its warm weather, tax structure, proximity to Latin America or cultural activities. Those will always be in our favor. The region will continue to attract businesses and people if its infrastructure meets demands that now strain the transportation system and modernizes its cities.

The average commute time in Miami is just under 30 minutes, making it one of the worst five cities in the nation, according to Census data compiled by an online retailer. A separate private commuting study placed the city second worst for people earning $40,000 per year.

The problem stretches into Broward and Palm Beach counties, where public officials plan to make conditions worse. Anne Castro, chair of the Broward County Planning Council, told attendees at a meeting, “We're going to make them suffer first, and then we're going to figure out ways to move them after that because they're going to scream at us to help them move.”

That will likely happen in the next decade or so. An analysis of state statistics shows that over one-third of Broward County roads and 15 percent of Palm Beach County roads will be rated F because of constant traffic jams.

Before businesses, residents and tourists reach the “I can't take it anymore” point, we must recapture the productivity lost to sitting on clogged highways and gridlocked streets. Shortening commute times will take a coordinated, capital-intensive effort to improve transportation corridors and accelerate denser development around city hubs. We must relieve congestion by housing people closer to the places they work, opening lanes for commercial traffic, and encouraging public transportation.

Anyone who has driven in South Florida for more than two days knows we need to reduce crowding. But what are the priorities? In Miami-Dade County, six corridors are key: I-95, I-75, U.S. 1, the southern end of Florida's Turnpike, and state roads 826 and 836. They move hundreds of thousands of cars every day, and none is ready to meet the demands of the next decade.

Broward County has what's been called the Sinister Six: Hallandale Beach Boulevard, Pines Boulevard near I-75 Sunrise Boulevard, Southeast 17th Street Causeway, and University Drive near I-595 and Young Circle where U.S. 1 intersects Hollywood Boulevard.

Palm Beach suffers from congestion on its major east-west roads. Royal Palm Beach and Wellington, which sit far from the water, rank among the 11 worst commuter cities in Florida.

We are making some progress. Realignment of the 826/836 interchange has eliminated a bottleneck. Reconstruction of I-595 with reversible lanes has eased pressure on that major artery. And widening I-95 in Palm Beach to five lanes from one end of the county to the other has lessened the pressure.

Extension of a toll express lane on I-95 through Broward County and later Palm Beach County will help traffic flow more smoothly. And the $324 million improvement of the I-75 interchange with Florida's Turnpike will take vehicles off local roads.

However, we can't pave our way out of trouble. Business and government leaders must work hard to reshape South Floridians' driving habits and lifestyles. Mass transit will play a large role in that.

All Aboard Florida plans to roll out its pre-season service launch between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach line starting this year.

Those of us who work near U.S. 1 south of Miami know that a busway and increased use of Metrorail can alleviate the parking lot that the road has become during rush hours. So will the nine redevelopment projects planned along the highway, three of them at Metrorail stations. They will enable people to live next to their offices and public transportation, and give them easier access to amenities such as dining, entertainment and shopping.

A similar boom is under way in West Palm Beach, $1 billion in residential and mixed-use projects are planned for the city's downtown.

Will people ditch their cars? There's early evidence that they will in downtown Fort Lauderdale, where Flagler Village is attracting a mix of millennials and empty nesters, and Brickell which has become a destination for professionals. They're embracing a lifestyle that involves walking or hailing a ride rather than hopping into their vehicles.

Higher density, the kind seen in that neighborhood and envisioned along U.S. 1 from Dadeland through Brickell will slow the growth of commuter traffic. We must also accommodate commercial traffic, much of which is keyed to cargo-handling improvements at local ports. The opening of the Port Miami tunnel in 2014 solved a huge street traffic problem. Port Everglades needs a similar connector to I-95 to speed containers from ship to highway destinations.

Where will we find the billions of dollars needed for road improvements and road construction? No one method will or should succeed. Private investors and banks are backing the high rises going up in Brickell and Flagler Village; public-private partnerships made the Port Miami Tunnel, and the 826/836 and I-595 improvements possible; financing innovations are supporting the Brightline rail system; and government incentives are encouraging development of workforce housing close to employment hubs. The Trump administration is touting a $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

A shared vision and cooperation among government and business leaders can create a better future for South Florida. We need it now; no one's having any fun on the road anymore.

Alexis Leal is COO and a senior director at Munilla Construction Management in Coral Gables, a family-owned construction company specializing in general building and heavy civil construction including educational facilities. MCM is the seventh largest Hispanic-owned contractor in the United States with over 700 employees.