#1, Hollywood Freeway, Los Angeles
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 686
Worst bottleneck: Southbound, Vermont Avenue
Length of worst bottleneck: .64 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 77
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 14 mph
The expert opinion: "I recall they would say things like it’s a 20-minute trip downtown on the Hollywood Freeway,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief executive Art Leahy says on traffic when he was growing up in Los Angeles. “No one anticipated the congestion that would emerge."
#2, Lunalilo Freeway (H-1), Honolulu
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 347
Worst bottleneck: Eastbound, S Vineyard Blvd/Ward Ave
Length of worst bottleneck: .82 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 36
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 16.4 mph
The expert opinion: “There are only three lanes in either direction on Lunalilo Freeway through town, making it slow wherever there is a merge,” says KSSK traffic reporter Jason Yotsuda in an email. “Not much can be done there.”
#3, Capital Beltway, surrounds Washington DC
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 194
Worst bottleneck: Southbound, Exit 2A-B
Length of worst bottleneck: 1.26 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 31
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 21.2 mph
The expert opinion: “It’s a rough road,” says Adam Tuss, transportation reporter for WTOP 103.5. “It has lots of twists and turns, people speed on it and it’s got a lot of slow points too. It’s certainly not a freeway without its challenges.”
#4, I-35, Austin
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 460
Worst bottleneck: Northbound, Riverside Dr
Length of worst bottleneck: .92 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 47
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 16.2 mph
The expert opinion: “It’s the most traveled stretch of roadway of Austin and in the state,” says Joe Taylor, traffic reporter for News 8 Austin. “It’s quirky. It was designed for a small town, and we’ve grown into a very large city.”
#5, James Lick Freeway (US 101), San Francisco
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 190
Worst bottleneck: I 80 Northbound, 4th St/5th St
Length of worst bottleneck: .52 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 46
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 12.9 mph
The expert opinion: “I think it’s probably worse in the afternoon than in morning drives,” says Kim Wonderley, traffic reporter at KCBS 740. “There is another stretch of 280 that hits it and from that point up into San Francisco where it ends up joining Interstate 80 it’s a pressure point, no doubt about it.”
#6, Cross Bronx Expressway, New York City
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 421
Worst bottleneck: Southbound, Bronx River Parkway/Exit 4B
Length of worst bottleneck: .36 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 94
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 11.2 mph
The expert opinion: “There’s an old phrase that we used to have: too many cars and not enough roadway, and that fits the Cross Bronx to a T,” says Tom Kaminski, traffic reporter for WCBS 880 in New York City. “There’s no room to expand, there’s no way to throw in an additional lane or an additional shoulder—people have started changing their driving habits whenever they can.”
#7, I-5, Seattle
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 256
Worst bottleneck: Southbound, 45th St/Exit 169
Length of worst bottleneck: 1.46 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 34
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 21.3 mph
The expert opinion: “We have one major problem in downtown Seattle, and that is physical restraints,” says Paul Tosch, traffic reporter for KOMO 1000. “We only have so much room to put more freeway through downtown Seattle because we have water to one side and all the downtown buildings to the other. And I mean we don’t have room for one more lane.”
#8, I-95, Bridgeport, CT
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 272
Worst bottleneck: Northbound, US 1/Connecticut Ave/Exit 14
Length of worst bottleneck: 1.4 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 27
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 22.7 mph
The expert opinion: “If there’s a car crash it can take people forever to get home,” says Tommy Edison, traffic reporter for STAR 99.9. “It can be downright horrible.”
#9, Kennedy Expressway, Chicago
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 712
Worst bottleneck: Westbound, I 90/I 94/Edens Expressway
Length of worst bottleneck: .2 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 64
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 17.2 mph
The expert opinion: “There’s no such thing as rush hour. It’s rush period, rush day,” says Roz Varon, traffic anchor for ABC 7 News This Morning. “With the Kennedy, that thing will stay congested until 10 or 11 a.m. and start backing up again at 1 p.m.”
#10, Airport Expressway (State Road 112), Miami
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 183
Worst bottleneck: Eastbound, 72nd Ave/Milam Dairy Rd
Length of worst bottleneck: .46 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 22
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 16.3 mph
Commuter Buzz: ”Southbound, northbound, eastbound, westbound. It means detours,” state Department of Transportation spokesperson Tish Burgher told the Miami Herald July 14, 2009, after surrounding roadwork was expected to force traffic onto State Road 112.
#11, Bayshore Freeway (US 101), San Jose
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 231
Worst bottleneck: Northbound, Old Middlefield Way
Length of worst bottleneck: .34 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 27
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 20.2
Commuter Buzz: “There are stretches that look like a fault line with jagged edges,” says Mike McPherson.
#12, Loop 610, surrounds Houston
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 189
Worst bottleneck: Southbound, Farm-to-Market Rd 1093/Westheimer Rd/Exit 8
Length of worst bottleneck: .16 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 34
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 21.9 mph
Commuter Buzz: “That is the inner loop that defines for us what the, quote, inner city of Houston is, which is a gigantic space,” says Professor Stephen Klineberg of Rice University.
#13, I-10, Baton Rouge
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 93
Worst bottleneck: Westbound, Bluebonnet Rd/Exit 162
Length of worst bottleneck: 1.55 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 19
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 20.6 mph
Commuter Buzz: “There is a lot of congestion already between Addis and the (Interstate 10 Mississippi River Bridge),” says Louise Crochet. “It makes more sense to spread traffic out.”
#14, Southeast Expressway, Boston
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 305
Worst bottleneck: Northbound, Highway 203/Gallivan Blvd/Exit 12
Length of worst bottleneck: .98 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 45
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 18.7 mph
Commuter Buzz: “You leave the house at 5:40 [a.m.], and you’re still hitting traffic?’’ says Jay McQuaide. “The last year for me, commuting between Andover and Boston, is the worst it’s ever been, much worse than the Big Dig construction years.’’
#15, Loop 820, surrounds Dallas-Fort Worth
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 172
Worst bottleneck: Westbound, Rufe Snow Drive/Exit 20
Length of worst bottleneck: .85 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 41
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 20.1 mph
Commuter Buzz: "Coming back home, 5:30 or 6:00 p.m., it takes a long time to get home if you’re coming 820," says Mark Quintero. "I try to avoid it when I can."
#16, I-5, Portland, OR
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 238
Worst bottleneck: Northbound, Marine Dr/Exit 307
Length of worst bottleneck: .76 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 23
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 14.8 mph
Commuter Buzz: “As anyone who drives on Interstate 5 or listens to the traffic reports knows, I-5 and most of the Portland freeway system is already congested at peak hours,” wrote Gerald Fox. “There are numerous choke points and frequent incidents delaying traffic throughout the region.”
#17, I-494, Minneapolis-St. Paul
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 184
Worst bottleneck: Westbound, Lyndale Ave/Exit 4
Length of worst bottleneck: .49 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 32
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 19.8 mph
Commuter Buzz: In addition to Lyndale Avenue, the I-494/Hwy 169 interchange has, "been a bottleneck for years," says Jim Gates.
#18, I-264, Virginia Beach
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 97
Worst bottleneck: Westbound, City Hall Ave/Exit 10
Length of worst bottleneck: .15 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 28
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 8.9 mph
Commuter Buzz: "We’re the second-largest region in the state by population and we had a year in which there’s no interstate funding—I just didn’t want to set that precedent," Aubrey Layne told the Virginian-Pilot in December 2009, after securing a $7.7 million in state funds for updates to the I-64/264 interchange.
#19, San Diego Freeway (I-5), San Diego
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 97
Worst bottleneck: Southbound, Manchester Ave
Length of worst bottleneck: .83 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 14
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 28.4 mph
Commuter Buzz: "People were jumping the median and stuffing dollar bills in their shirts," Cal Walker told NBC after drug suspects tossed $17,000 onto the freeway last March.
#20, Schuylkill Expressway, Philadelphia
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 205
Worst bottleneck: Eastbound, Montgomery Dr/Exit 341
Length of worst bottleneck: 1.53 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 34
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 22.9 mph
Commuter Buzz: "Frankly, we don’t need any more rain," Gary Szatkowski told the Philadelphia Inquirer, after a 2009 that saw a rain-induced mudslide close part of the Schuylkill.
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What I don’t understand is how Chicago’s Kennedy can log 712 weekly hours of bottleneck congestion, more than any city on the list, and still be 9th.
