Congestion control is a demanding functionality for intelligent transportation systems. It involves various functionalities and tasks, namely, traffic estimation and forecasting, sensing and communication, and traffic signal control. The literature on traffic congestion estimation and control has emerged significantly, and different methodologies and approaches have evolved. In this survey, an exploration of the existing systems in traffic congestion estimation and control was conducted. Furthermore, this review provides the primary taxonomy of the current methodologies and approaches; namely, for congestion estimation: machine learning, fusion methods, and for congestion control: machine learning and data-driven models, optimization techniques, technology-driven approaches, fuzzy logic and systems, game theory and decision making, and hybrid traffic management. In addition, this survey is considered the first to address traffic congestion handling in intelligent transportation systems from sensing, estimation, detection, recognition, and control perspectives. Finally, the survey provides an overview of the existing issues and challenges for traffic congestion in intelligent transportation systems, as well as future research directions.