Top 10 Worst Traffic Bottlenecks in the U.S.

March 26, 2019 | by Marketing Team

Top 10 Worst Bottlenecks in US | Thunder Funding-1

U.S. congestion costs trucking $74.5 billion annually. And, we don’t expect this trend to improve anytime soon.

Since 2016, the ATRI’s research showed that Atlanta’s “Spaghetti Junction” was the worst rated bottleneck on the nation’s highways. But, it’s annual 2019 Top Truck Bottleneck List named the intersection of Interstate 95 and State Route 4 in Fort Lee, NJ, (an entrance into New York City) as the worst freight bottleneck in the U.S. This means the NYC metro area has surpassed Atlanta as having the worst highway congestion in the United States. Not exactly something to celebrate.

The 2019 list assessed the level of truck-oriented congestion at 300 locations on the national highway system based on truck GPS data from nearly 1 million heavy-duty trucks. As mentioned above, this congestion costs the trucking industry $74.5 billion annually and the industry loses 1.2 billion hours of productivity while trucks sit in traffic across the U.S. According to the ATRI, this is equivalent to 425,533 truck drivers sitting idle for an entire year. Traffic congestion, idling, diminished fuel efficiency…these are tough trucking trends and challenges we all want to avoid. 

Here are 2019’s Top 10 worst freight bottlenecks in the U.S., according to the ATRI:

  • Fort Lee, NJ: I-95 at SR 4
  • Atlanta: I-285 at I-85 (North)
  • Atlanta: I-75 at I-285 (North)
  • Los Angeles: SR 60 at SR 57
  • Houston: I-45 at I-69/US 59
  • Cincinnati: I-71 at I-75
  • Chicago: I-290 at I-90/I-94
  • Nashville: I-24/I-40 at I-440 (East)
  • Atlanta: I-20 at I-285 (West)
  • Los Angeles: I-710 at I-105

You can view the top 100 worst bottlenecks on the ATRI website.

“This report should be a wakeup call for elected leaders at all levels of government that we must act quickly to address our increasingly congested highway system. Without meaningful investment in our nation’s infrastructure, carriers will continue to endure billions of dollars in congestion-related costs, which results in a self-inflicted drag on our economy,” says Chris Spear, the American Trucking Association’s president and CEO.

Twelve states have at least four serious bottlenecks, according to the ATRI:

  • Texas: 13
  • California: 7
  • Connecticut: 6
  • Georgia: 6
  • Washington: 6
  • Maryland/DC: 5
  • Minnesota: 5
  • New York: 5
  • Pennsylvania: 5
  • Illinois: 4
  • Indiana: 4
  • Tennessee: 4

The information provided through the ATRI assists decision-making by the private and public sectors by helping stakeholders better understand the severity of congestion and mobility constraints on the U.S. highway transportation system. And, on a state and local level, this research can inform local investment decisions that can directly improve supply chain efficiency.

Be sure to check out our Thunder Funding Blog for more trucking industry news and trends from the team at Thunder Funding!

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