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Dive Brief:
- The Atlanta Perimeter Interstate 285 is home to three of the 10 worst truck congestion spots in the U.S., the American Transportation Research Institute said in this year’s rankingwhich was released on Tuesday.
- Fort Lee, New Jersey, where traffic often builds up on the George Washington Bridge in New York, held onto its crown as the biggest pain point for truckers for the sixth year in a row. But Atlanta surpassed Chicago and Houston for the most congestion in a major metropolitan area.
- The average peak truck speed in the 10 worst areas was 28.5 mph, according to ATRI. The overall average speed of trucks during peak hours was down nearly 4% from the previous year to 34.4 mph.
The 10 biggest truck bottlenecks
Highway junction | City and State |
---|---|
1. I-95 and SR 4 |
Fort Lee, New Jersey |
2. I-294 to I-290/I-88 |
Chicago, Illinois |
3. I-55 |
Chicago, Illinois |
4. I-45 to I-69/US 59 |
Houston, Texas |
5. I-285 to I-85 (North) |
Atlanta, Georgia |
6. I-20 to I-285 (West) |
Atlanta, Georgia |
7. 60 SR to 57 SR |
Los Angeles, California |
8. I-10 to I-45 |
Houston, Texas |
9. I-285 at SR 400 |
Atlanta, Georgia |
10. I-24/I-40 to I-440 |
Nashville, Tennessee |
![A map shows the top trucking bottlenecks in the US, according to the American Transportation Research Institute.](https://www.truckingdive.com/imgproxy/nZnxh0xC1JAKUoDeYrpBk8o7eyGLb1_2yeJ7ss8e58c/g:ce/rs:fill:0:860:0/bG9jYWw6Ly8vZGl2ZWltYWdlL1NjcmVlbl9TaG90XzIwMjQtMDItMTRfYXRfMTIuMzcuNTlfUE0ucG5n.webp)
![A map shows the top trucking bottlenecks in the US, according to the American Transportation Research Institute.](https://www.truckingdive.com/imgproxy/nZnxh0xC1JAKUoDeYrpBk8o7eyGLb1_2yeJ7ss8e58c/g:ce/rs:fill:0:860:0/bG9jYWw6Ly8vZGl2ZWltYWdlL1NjcmVlbl9TaG90XzIwMjQtMDItMTRfYXRfMTIuMzcuNTlfUE0ucG5n.webp)
A map shows the top trucking bottlenecks in the US, according to ATRI.
Courtesy of the American Transportation Research Institute
Dive Insight:
Georgia Motor Trucking Association President and CEO Ed Crowell told Trucking Dive in an interview that the ongoing construction has caused traffic on the Perimeter to be snarled.
“There are cones and cranes everywhere,” Crowell said.
But that’s also a reason for optimism: The Georgia Department of Transportation has crews working to address the issues, Crowell said.
“When it’s all said and done, which will be another year and a half or two years from now, I think we should see better traffic flow and hopefully we’ll get further down that top 10 list and maybe, if we’re lucky, break out of this,” said the president of the state trucking association.
In a statement, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear cited ATRI’s estimates of $95 billion added to the cost of trucking, producing 69 million metric tons of excess carbon emissions each year.
ATRI’s top bottlenecks report provides a blueprint for state and federal transportation officials to follow to invest infrastructure funding more effectively, Spear said.
“Increasing the efficiency of freight transportation should be a top priority for the US DOT, and alleviating these bottlenecks will improve highway safety, protect the environment and support interstate commerce,” said CEO ATA.