New report finds congestion is only getting worse

According to the ATRI report, average truck speeds have decreased by about 5% across the top five bottlenecks in the U.S.: I-285 at I-85 in Atlanta, Ga., takes the No. 1 spot for the worst congestion ranking, followed by I-94 at S.R. 4 in Fort Lee, N.J., then I-290 at I-90/94 in Chicago, Ill., then Atlanta again, this time I-75 at I-285 N, and finally S.R. 60 at S.R. 57 in Los Angeles, Calif., takes the No. 5 spot.

This congestion, the report says, translates to 996 million hours of lost productivity for truckers, which costs approximately $63.4 billion for the country’s highway system.

“The trucking industry can’t bear that cost alone, so that’s a cost that’s being borne by the entire supply chain,” ATRI President Rebecca Brewster told reporting website The Hill in an interview.

The ATRI study surveyed 300 locations around the country, an increase from the 250 locations it surveyed in the report published last year, and the top three spots on this year’s list match those of last year’s.

The report’s release coincides with President Trump’s announcement that he will discuss his administration’s proposal for a $1.7 trillion infrastructure plan next week during his State of the Union address.