For the fifth year in a row, the intersection of I-95 and SR 4 in Fort Lee, NJ, is once again the No. 1 freight bottleneck in the country, according to the American Transportation Research Institute.
The remaining Top 10 bottlenecks include:
2. Chicago: I-294 at I-290/I-88
3. Houston: I-45 at I-69/US 59
4. Atlanta: I-285 at I-85 (North)
5. Atlanta: I-20 at I-285 (West)
6. Chicago: I-290 at I-90/I-94
7. Los Angeles: SR 60 at SR 57
8. Los Angeles: I-710 at I-105
9. Nashville: I-24/I-40 at I-440 (East)
10. San Bernardino, California: I-10 at I-15
ATRI’s analysis, which uses data from 2022, found traffic conditions continue to deteriorate from recent years as more Americans returned to work after the Covid 19 pandemic wound down.
This trend also has created supply chain bottlenecks throughout the country. Average rush hour truck speeds were 36.3 mph, down more than 6% from 2021. Among the top 10 locations, average rush hour truck speeds were less than 30 mph.
“The past year-plus has shone a spotlight on our supply chains, and how congestion and other pressures can hurt the American economy and consumers,” said American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear.
“ATRI’s bottleneck report highlights the areas of our transportation network in need of investment so we can get goods and people moving. The cost of doing nothing is felt in needless delays, wasted fuel and time.”
Utilizing an extensive database of freight truck GPS data, ATRI develops and monitors a series of key performance measures on the nation’s freight transportation system. Among its many GPS analyses, ATRI converts the truck GPS dataset into an ongoing truck bottleneck analysis that is used to quantify the impact of traffic congestion on truck-borne freight at more than 300 specific locations.