ATRI unveils annual list of top truck bottlenecks, Atlanta again tops the list

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Updated Jan 26, 2017
Atlanta’s Spaghetti Junction interchange at I-285 and I-85 North is the most congested location in the U.S., according to ATRI research. (Image via ATRI’s 2017 Top Truck Bottleneck List)Atlanta’s Spaghetti Junction interchange at I-285 and I-85 North is the most congested location in the U.S., according to ATRI research. (Image via ATRI’s 2017 Top Truck Bottleneck List)

Atlanta’s “Spaghetti Junction” — the intersection of I-285 at I-85 North — tops the list of the most congested freight bottlenecks in the country for the second year in a row, according to research from the American Transportation Research Institute.

ATRI’s research found that the average speed at this location is 38 miles per hour, with an average speed during peak traffic times of 26 mph.

The 2017 Top Truck Bottleneck List examines truck-oriented congestion at 250 locations across the country and uses truck GPS data from more than 600,000 trucks to determine the congestion at each location.

Rounding out the top 10 truck freight bottlenecks are:

  • I-95 at State Route 4 in Fort Lee, N.J.
  • I-290 at I-90/94 in Chicago
  • I-65 at I-64/71 in Louisville, Ky.
  • I-71 at I-75 in Cincinnati
  • SR 60 at SR 57 in Los Angeles
  • SR 18 at SR 167 in Auburn, Wash.
  • I-45 at US 59 in Houston
  • I-75 at I-285 North in Atlanta
  • I-5 at I-90 in Seattle

The full list can be found here. By clicking on a bottleneck in the list, viewers can see which hours are the most congested for each location.

“With President Trump expected to press for significant long-term infrastructure spending, this ATRI analysis should be a key guide for deciding what projects are worthy of funding,” said American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear. “Ensuring the safe and efficient movement of goods should be a national priority and this report draws attention to the places where our highway network needs improvement in order to meet that goal.”

The intersection of I-70 at I-79 West in Pittsburgh saw the biggest jump from last year’s list to this year’s, rising 83 spots from outside the top 100 to the No. 61 congested intersection in the country, according to ATRI. Houston’s intersection of I-45 at I-610 South saw the biggest decrease in congestion, falling 26 spots to No. 82.

In total, Texas was the state with the most intersections appearing on ATRI’s list with 14, followed by Washington state with 9, and Connecticut, California and Georgia with 7 each. Ten of the 14 locations in Texas appearing on the list are in Houston.