Worst US Traffic Bottlenecks: Study Says Top Ten In Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, And Austin
The American Highway Users Alliance has published a new study that includes a list of the top traffic bottleneck locations in the United States. The portion of the I-90, the Kennedy Expressway between Roosevelt Road and North Nagle Avenue in Chicago, is identified as being the very worst traffic bottleneck in the United States. The stretch of roadway is estimated to cost American motorists 16.9 million lost hours every year that the study values at $418 million. This is thought to result in 6.4 million gallons of fuel being wasted annually.
Los Angeles, which holds the distinction of being home to more traffic bottlenecks on the list than any other U.S. city with 12 bottlenecks total, hosts the second worst bottleneck in the country on I-405 between SR-22 and I-605. The 4.1 mile-stretch of expressway costs motorists 7.1 million hours in lost time each year, valued at $192 million, and resulting in 1.8 million gallons of fuel going to waste.
Which Texas city breaks into the Top 10 worst #Bottlenecks2015? The answer is at https://t.co/XSPLOQhtwE and might surprise you!
— American Highway Users Alliance (@highwayusers) November 23, 2015
Los Angeles is also the location of the third through seventh worst bottlenecks in the United States. They are made up of sections of I-10, I-405, and US-101 throughout the city. In total, the Los Angeles traffic bottlenecks in the U.S. top ten result in 34.7 million lost hours valued at $934 million each year. The bottlenecks are said to cause 10.7 million gallons of fuel to be wasted annually.
New York City is home to the eighth and ninth worst traffic bottlenecks in the United states, the Lincoln Tunnel between 10th Avenue and John F. Kennedy Boulevard and I-95 between Broadway and I-895. Together, the two bottlenecks account for 6.4 million lost hours, worth $155 million annually. Between them, the top two New York bottlenecks are estimated to waste 3.2 million gallons of fuel each year.
Austin, Texas is home to the traffic bottleneck that rounds out the top ten list of the worst traffic bottlenecks in the United States, which can be found on I-35 between East Dean Keeton Street and East Riverside Drive. The Austin bottleneck is estimated to cost motorists 3.0 million wasted hours annually, valued at $73 million. The I-35 Austin bottleneck is thought to waste just over one million gallons of fuel each year.
“These findings are critically important and mean that our nation will derive huge benefits from fixing the worst gridlock in our nation’s highway system: benefits that go way beyond improving mobility for highway users,” said the CEO of the American Highway Users Alliance Greg Cohen.
Kathleen Bower, a vice president of Public Affairs & International Relations with the American Automobile Association was quoted with regard to traffic bottlenecks harming the “quality of life of motorists nationwide.” She spoke about bottlenecks wasting time, putting the safety of motorists at risk, and causing unnecessary wear on cars.
“At this very moment, Congress is finalizing the first new major long-term highway bill in more than 10 years. We will have a tremendous opportunity to fix the trouble spots that cause motorists and truckers daily frustration, idling engines that waste fuel and emit greenhouse gases,” Greg Cohen stated in the release the accompanied the study.
Cohen also noted that auto accidents result in 30,000 deaths each year, as well as injuries numbering 2.5 million. He said taking steps toward reducing bottlenecks would help to reduce these numbers.
[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]
