ARLINGTON, Va. — The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) today released its annual list highlighting the Top 100 most congested bottlenecks for trucks in America — and for the third consecutive year, the intersection of Interstate 95 and State Route 4 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, tops the list.
The 2021 Top Truck Bottleneck List measures the level of truck-involved congestion at more than 300 locations on the national highway system. The analysis, based on truck GPS data from more than 1 million freight trucks, uses several customized software applications and analysis methods, along with terabytes of data from trucking operations to produce a congestion impact ranking for each location. ATRI’s truck GPS data is also used to support the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Freight Mobility Initiative.
This year’s Top 10 freight bottlenecks in the U.S. are:
- Fort Lee, New Jersey: Interstate 95 at State Route 4;
- Cincinnati: Interstate 71 at Interstate 75;
- Atlanta: Interstate 285 at Interstate 85 (North);
- Atlanta: Interstate 20 at Interstate 285 (West);
- Houston: Interstate 45 at Interstate 69/U.S. 59;
- Chicago: Interstate 290 at Interstate 90/Interstate 94;
- Chattanooga, Tennessee: Interstate 75 at Interstate 24;
- Louis: Interstate 64/Interstate 55 at Interstate 44;
- Rye, New York: Interstate 95 at Interstate 287; and
- San Bernardino, California: Interstate 10 at Interstate 15.
“While everyone else sheltered in place in 2020, trucks kept rolling, delivering essential goods to communities large and small,” said CRST International President and CEO Hugh Ekberg. “Unfortunately, congestion continues to impact our operations and affect our drivers’ ability to deliver for America.”
ATRI’s analysis, which utilized data from 2020, found that while there were COVID-related impacts on traffic across the country as car drivers stayed at home, the year was not without severe congestion. Average truck speeds at 25% of the bottlenecks on ATRI’s list were 45 mph or less, reflecting both a return to pre-pandemic freight demand throughout the year and the impact of numerous roadway construction projects in 2020.
“For decades, ATA has been sounding the alarm about how the condition of our highways i contributing to congestion — which slows down commerce, contributes to pollution and reduces safety. ATRI’s bottleneck report highlights where our most critical issues are and should be a guide for policymakers at the state and federal level,” said Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations. “The cost of doing nothing is always higher than the cost of fixing these problems and we cannot wait any longer to address this mounting crisis.”
To view the full report, click here.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
