ARLINGTON, VA – The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has released a list of U.S. roads to avoid!

Topping the list in its 2014 Congestion Impact Analysis of Freight-Significant Highway Locations is the George Washington Bridge, which connects New York and New Jersey. It surpassed the perennial first-place holder, Chicago’s Circle Interchange (#2 on the list).

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 FHWA-sponsored Freight Performance Measures (FPM) initiative. The locations detailed in this latest ATRI report represent the top 100 congested locations.

The top 10 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.  Better-informed decisions mean more targeted infrastructure investment at critical freight nodes,” remarked Matt Hart, President of the Illinois Trucking Association and a member of ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee.  “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.”

The full report, including detailed information on each of the 100 top congested locations, is available at the ATRI website.