The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released the findings of its 2014 Congestion Impact Analysis of Freight-Significant Highway Locations. The research, which assesses the level of truck-oriented congestion at 250 locations on the national highway system, 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.

The data is also used in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration-sponsored Freight Performance Measures (FPM) initiative. The locations detailed in this latest ATRI report represent the top 100 congested locations.

The number one spot on the ATRI list this year is the George Washington Bridge that connects New York and New Jersey. It surpassed the perennial first-place holder, Chicago’s Circle Interchange (#2 on the list). ATRI’s analysis points to construction on the top deck of the George Washington Bridge which created significant delays for trucks in 2013.

The top ten on ATRI’s list are, in rank order:
1. Fort Lee NJ: I-95 AT SR 4
2. Chicago IL: I-290 AT I-90/I-94
3. Atlanta GA: I-285 AT I-85 (NORTH)
4. Cincinnati OH: I-71 AT I-75
5. Houston TX: I-45 AT US 59
6. Houston TX: I-610 AT US 290
7. St Louis MO: I-70 AT I-64 (WEST)
8. Los Angeles CA: SR 60 AT SR 57
9. Louisville KY: I-65 AT I-64/I-71
10. Austin TX: I-35

“ATRI’s identification of congestion impacts at freight-significant locations is a critical tool in the transportation planning toolbox,” said Matt Hart, president of the Illinois Trucking Association and a member of ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee. “Better-informed decisions mean more targeted infrastructure investment at critical freight nodes. Here in Illinois, we’re seeing first-hand how ATRI’s identification of the Circle Interchange as the number one freight bottleneck in previous studies led to a significant state investment to fix the chokepoint.”

For access to the full report, including detailed information on each of the 100 top congested locations, visit www.atri-online.org.