Chicago Expressway Has Worst Bottleneck in U.S.: Study

A 12-mile stretch along the Kennedy Expressway has been ranked as the worst bottleneck in the United States, according to a recent study by the American Highway Users Alliance.

The top-ranked bottleneck on Interstate 90 is located between Nagle Avenue and Roosevelt Road. The American Highway Users Alliance found that motorists spent 16.9 million hours in traffic along this stretch of roadway, which is equivalent to $418 million in lost time in 2014.

More than 6.3 million gallons of fuel is wasted on I-90 while cars idle or crawl in traffic, according to the study.

“The results are a sad reminder that bottlenecks harm the quality of life of motorists nationwide,” said Kathleen Bower, AAA Vice President, Public Affairs & International Relations. “Our states desperately need stable and predictable funding to fix these problems so that highway bottlenecks no longer rob people of time, endanger driver safety or cause costly wear and tear on vehicles.”

Two other Chicago roadways also made the top 50 worst bottlenecks list. Interstate 90 between I-55 and Pershing Road was ranked at No. 23 on the list and and Interstate 94 between the I-90 interchange and North Elston Avenue was ranked No. 46 on the list.

Meanwhile, several Los Angeles roadways were ranked in the top ten the American Highway Users Alliance list.

You can find the full study here.