Think of this as the Ten Least Wanted List of places truckers have to drive.
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) simply calls it the 2014 Congestion Impact Analysis of Freight-Significant Highway Locations.
And – drumroll please – the top 10 on ATRI’s list of most congested highway spots are
1. FORT LEE, NJ: I-95 AT SR 4
2. CHICAGO, IL: I-290 AT I-90/I-94
3. ATLANTA, GA: I-285 AT I-85 (NORTH)
4. CINCINNATI, OH: I-71 AT I-75
5. HOUSTON, TX: I-45 AT US 59
6. HOUSTON, TX: I-610 AT US 290
7. ST. LOUIS, MO: I-70 AT I-64 (WEST)
8. LOS ANGELES, CA: SR 60 AT SR 57
9. LOUISVILLE, KY: I-65 AT I-64/I-71
10. AUSTIN, TX: I-35
The number one spot on the ATRI list this year is the George Washington Bridge; it connects New York and New Jersey. It surpassed the perennial first-place holder, Chicago’s Circle Interchange (#2 on the list).ATRI’s analysis points to construction on the top deck of the George Washington Bridge, which created significant delays for trucks in 2013.
The research, which was released Wednesday, assesses the level of truck-oriented congestion at 250 locations on the national highway system. It uses several customized software applications and analysis methods, along with data from trucking operations to produce a congestion impact ranking for each location.
“ATRI’s identification of congestion impacts at freight-significant locations is a critical tool in the transportation planning toolbox,” said Matt Hart, president of the Illinois Trucking Association and a member of ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee. “Better-informed decisions mean more targeted infrastructure investment at critical freight nodes.
“Here in Illinois we’re seeing first-hand how ATRI’s identification of the Circle Interchange as the number one freight bottleneck in previous studies led to a significant state investment to fix the chokepoint.”
For access to the full report, including detailed information on each of the 100 top congested locations, visit www.atri-online.org.
Just another day in Austin, Tx.
