Nation's Worst Intersection Is In Atlanta, Truckers Say

ATLANTA, GA — It may not be the kind of title Atlanta is glad to defend, but few metro drivers are likely to disagree. Once again, a trucking industry group has named Atlanta the home of the worst bottlenecks in the country.

Spaghetti Junction — where Interstate 85 and Interstate 285 come together — has been ranked No. 1 on the American Transportation Research Institute's annual list of the nation's 100 Top Truck Bottlenecks.

In all, seven metro Atlanta interchanges made the list, with one more Top 10 finisher. The intersection of Interstate 75 and I-285 came in at No. 4 on the list. For both of those, it was the northbound lanes that had the worst showing.

The research institute is an arm of the American Trucking Associations, the largest trade association for the trucking industry in the United States.

See the ATRI's 2018 100 Top Truck Bottlenecks list here.

The list assesses the level of truck-oriented congestion at 300 locations in the U.S. highway system. The analysis is based on truck GPS data from more than 600,000 trucks, using several customized software applications and analysis methods, along with terabytes of data from trucking operations to produce a congestion impact ranking for each location.

"Measuring the performance of freight movement across our nation’s highways is critical to understanding where and at what level investment should be made," the institute said in its report. "The information provided through this effort can empower decision-making in both the private and public sectors by helping stakeholders better understand the severity of congestion and mobility constraints on the U.S. highway transportation system."

The five other Atlanta intersections making the list were:

• I-20 at I-285 Westbound (No. 17)
• I-20 at I-285 Eastbound (No. 46)
• I-20 at I-75/I-85 Connector (No. 79)
• I-75 at I-85 (No. 90)
• I-75 at I-675 (No. 95)

According to the institute's data, average traffic speeds at Spaghetti Junction were 37 m.p.h. and dropped down to 24.7 m.p.h. during rush hours. That was 4.1 percent slower than in 2017's report, which also ranked the interchange as the nation's worst.

Traffic crawls north out of Atlanta along Interstate 75/85 during rush hour May 9, 2005. (Photo by Barry Williams/Getty Images)