For the first time in nearly a decade, a new location has solidified its place at the top of America’s worst freight bottleneck: the I-294 at I-290/I-88 interchange in the western suburbs of Chicago.
Located approximately 15 miles west of the city’s downtown, the bottleneck was ranked second in the 2025 survey but has now surpassed the perennial top chokepoint at I-95 and SR4 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, which dropped to number two. Rounding out the top three is the I-285 at I-85 North interchange in Atlanta.
The latest annual bottleneck report from the American Transportation Research Institute paints a sobering picture for the U.S. supply chain, revealing that traffic congestion at the nation’s most critical freight nodes is intensifying, threatening the efficiency of truck-borne freight.
The latest analysis shows average peak-hour truck speed across bottlenecks has dropped to 33.2 mph, a 2.8% decrease year-over-year. Among the top 10 locations, average rush hour truck speeds were 29.6 mph, down slightly from 29.7 mph among the top 10 locations last year.
In reporting last year’s results, ATRI President Rebecca Brewster noted that congestion was the equivalent of 436,000 drivers sitting idle for an entire year. The 2026 results suggest that the industry is losing more ground.
Other key metrics from the 2026 report include:
- Widespread congestion: 75% of the top 100 bottlenecks now report average truck speeds of less than 45 mph, a significant jump from the 66 locations reported in last year’s survey.
- Geographic concentration: Texas, Georgia, California, Tennessee, and Illinois remain the top five states with the most bottleneck locations.
- Atlanta dominance: Atlanta continues to be a focal point of freight frustration, claiming four (including McDonough, Ga.) of the top ten spots.
Highway congestion “not only chokes our supply chains, adding $109 billion annually to the cost of goods paid by consumers, it also impacts the quality of life for all motorists,” said American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear, commenting on the latest survey results.
“Fortunately for frustrated commuters, there is hope. For many years, the George Washington Bridge held this infamous bottleneck title, yet targeted infrastructure investments have finally helped to boost speeds between New York and New Jersey. This success provides a roadmap for policymakers to invest in projects that will improve efficiency throughout our transportation system and benefit their constituents.”
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