Learn Spanish (Latin America): Sigo sin cruzar la intersección por el tráfico. - I still haven't crossed the intersection because of the traffic.

In Spanish, the verb seguir is usually followed by a gerund to show an ongoing action (e.g., sigo cruzando means "I keep crossing"). However, when you want to express the negative of this—that you continue not doing something, or still haven't done it—you must switch to the structure seguir sin + infinitive. A negative gerund (like "sigo no cruzando") is not used in Spanish.

Could I just translate "I still haven't crossed" as todavía no he cruzado?

Absolutely. Todavía no he cruzado is very common and conveys the same general meaning. Choosing sigo sin cruzar just places a bit more emphasis on the continuous, ongoing nature of your waiting—it highlights the unbroken stretch of time you've spent not crossing.

Why do we use por instead of para in por el tráfico?

You use por here because it indicates the cause or reason for a situation. In this sentence, it translates directly to "because of." If you used para, it would imply a goal, destination, or purpose, which doesn't make sense when you are simply delayed by traffic.

Is intersección the most natural word for "intersection" in everyday speech?