Report highlights Top 10 truck bottlenecks in U.S.

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ARLINGTON, VA. – Atlanta has the dubious distinction of being home to three of the 10 worst bottlenecks for trucks on American highways, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) reports.

The institute’s annual list identifies the intersection of I-95 and SR 4 in Fort Lee, N.J., as the worst freight bottleneck in the country. It last held that spot in 2014.

The remainder of the Top 10 list includes:

  1. Atlanta: I-285 at I-85 (North)
  2. Atlanta: I-75 at I-285 (North)
  3. Los Angeles: SR 60 at SR 57
  4. Houston: I-45 at I-69/US 59
  5. Cincinnati: I-71 at I-75
  6. Chicago: I-290 at I-90/I-94
  7. Nashville: I-24/I-40 at I-440 (East)
  8. Atlanta: I-20 at I-285 (West)
  9. Los Angeles: I-710 at I-105

Year-over-year truck speeds across the 10 locations dropped by an average of 9%.

The annual list assesses truck-oriented congestion at 300 locations, pulling GPS data from nearly 1 million heavy-duty trucks.

“For UPS, if all our vehicles are delayed just five minutes a day, every day, it costs our company $114 million a year,” said Rich McArdle, president of UPS Freight. “In order to combat congestion, many companies must plan operational redundancies to meet their customer needs.”

“This report should be a wakeup call for elected leaders at all levels of government that we must act quickly to address our increasingly congested highway system,” said Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations. “Without meaningful investment in our nation’s infrastructure, carriers will continue to endure billions of dollars in congestion-related costs – which results in a self-inflicted drag on our economy.”

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John G. Smith is Newcom Media's vice-president - editorial, and the editorial director of its trucking publications -- including Today's Trucking, trucknews.com, and Transport Routier. The award-winning journalist has covered the trucking industry since 1995.


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