Northeast is Home to Major Traffic Bottlenecks for Trucks

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Connecticut is home to six locations that rank in the top 100 most-congested bottlenecks for trucks in the U.S., according to an annual listing issued by the American Transportation Research Institute. Also in the Northeast, the Maryland-Washington, D.C. area, New York State, and Pennsylvania each have five locations that rank in the top 100 most-congested truck bottlenecks, according to the 2019 Top Truck Bottleneck List.

ATRI assesses the level of “truck-oriented congestion” at 300 locations on the national highway system. The analysis, based on truck GPS data from nearly 1 million heavy-duty 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 are used to support the U.S. DOT’s freight mobility initiatives.

The bottlenecks in Connecticut include I-84 and I-91 in Hartford; and I-95 in Norwalk and Stamford. The bottlenecks in the Maryland-D.C. region include I-695 at I-70 in Baltimore.

The bottlenecks in New York are:

  • No. 20 Brooklyn: I-278 at Belt Parkway
  • No. 40 Queens: I-495
  • No. 76 Manhasset: I-495 at Shelter Rock Road
  • No. 83 Rye: I-95 at I-287
  • No. 99 Buffalo-Niagara Falls: I-90 at I-290

“With eight million residents and more than eight times as many visitors each year, New York generates tremendous demand for all goods delivered by truck, including food, clothing and fuel,” said Kendra Hems, president of the Trucking Association of New York. “Trucks deliver ninety-one percent of all goods coming into or out of New York City so when traffic congestion brings trucks to a standstill, everyone pays the price.  ATRI’s analysis provides direction on where infrastructure investment will have the greatest payoff for our citizens and our economy.”

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The bottlenecks in Pennsylvania are:

  • No. 38 Philadelphia: I-76 at I-676
  • No. 62 Harrisburg: I-81 at I-83
  • No. 63 Philadelphia: I-476 at I-95
  • No. 77 Philadelphia: I-76 at I-476
  • No. 92 Harrisburg:  Rt-581 at I-83

“The Keystone State depends on trucking to deliver the goods, everything from the food we eat to the clothes we wear and the fuel we put in our cars,” said Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association President and CEO Kevin Stewart. “Unfortunately, growing congestion impacts our ability to meet the demands of Pennsylvania’s citizens. Using ATRI’s bottleneck analysis, we can target infrastructure investment to those areas most affected by congestion.”

“ATRI’s research shows us where the worst points are, but they are far from the only ones. 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,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said.

“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.”

For access to the full report, which was released on Feb. 12, including detailed information on each of the 100 top congested locations, visit ATRI’s website at TruckingResearch.org.

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