Top truck bottlenecks concentrated in just a few cities

February 13, 2024

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The American Transportation Research Institute has released its latest top truck bottlenecks list, with Chicago, Atlanta and Houston making several appearances.

For the sixth consecutive year, Interstate 95 at state Route 4 in Fort Lee, N.J., is the worst truck bottleneck in the country, according to ATRI. Sections of highways in Chicago, Atlanta and Houston make up the majority of the top 10 bottlenecks:

Fort Lee – Interstate 95 at state Route 4
Chicago – Interstate 294 at Interstate 290/Interstate 88
Chicago – Interstate 55
Houston – Interstate 45 at Interstate 69/U.S. 59
Atlanta – Interstate 285 at Interstate 85 (north)
Atlanta – Interstate 20 at Interstate 285 (west)
Los Angeles – state Route 60 at state Route 57
Houston – Interstate 10 at Interstate 45
Atlanta – Interstate 285 at state Route 400
Nashville – Interstate 24/Interstate 40 at Interstate 440 (east)

This year’s top 10 truck bottlenecks include some of the usual suspects. New to the top 10 list are Chicago’s I-55, Houston’s I-10/I-45 (No. 11 last year) and Atlanta’s I-285/state Route 400 (No. 14 last year). Chicago’s I-55 was not even on the top 100 list at all in 2023.

Houston has the most appearances with nine truck bottlenecks, followed by Atlanta (eight), Chicago (six) and Washington, D.C. (five).

More than half of states (29) are represented in the top 100 list.

Average speeds across truck bottlenecks are getting worse. The average peak hour truck speed is 34.4 mph, down nearly 4% year-over-year. More than 60% of the top 100 bottlenecks have average truck speeds of less than 45 mph. Comparatively, less than 50% of top bottlenecks had average truck speeds of less than 45 mph in 2023.

“Measuring the performance of freight movement across our nation’s highways is critical to understanding where and at what level investments should be made,” the report states. “The information provided through this research empowers decision-making in both the private and public sectors by helping stakeholders better understand how congestion and delays constrain mobility on the U.S. highway transportation system. ATRI’s annual bottleneck list provides a clear roadmap to guide investment decisions as the nation capitalizes on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to address the nation’s supply chain challenges.”

To view the full list of truck bottlenecks, click here. LL