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2020 National List of Major Freight Highway Bottlenecks and Congested Corridors
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Freight Mobility Trends: Truck Hours of Delay

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The following table lists the top Interstate bottlenecks and congested corridors in the U.S. based upon Annual Truck Hours of Delay per Mile from 2020.   The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) used the Freight Mobility Trends (FMT) tool with data from the National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS) (https://npmrds.ritis.org) to develop the list.

Annual Truck Hours of Delay per Mile is calculated for each Interstate segment using the 2020 NPMRDS travel time data as follows:

  • Delay is calculated for each 15-minute time period as the difference between actual travel time and reference travel time.  Reference travel time is based on 85th percentile speed during off-peak and overnight time periods.
  • Delay for each 15-minute time period is multiplied by 15-minute truck volumes. Truck volumes are estimated from Annual Average Daily Truck Traffic (AADTT) using typical time-of-day traffic volume profiles. Delay for each 15-minute time period is aggregated to get annual truck hours of delay.
  • The total truck hours of delay is then divided by the segment length to get total truck hours of delay per mile, allowing for the comparison of all roadway sections across the NHS.

The above analysis has been conducted for 2017 through 2020 to compare trends in congestion and delay. The use of delay per mile for assessing bottlenecks is a consistent measure that allows for comparing performance over the entire Interstate system from year to year and across all States. Annual Truck Hours of Delay are quantified along corridors, as opposed to individual points, to consider the full delay that a truck would experience driving along a congested corridor.

The segment data for Annual Truck Hours of Delay was used as a starting point and was validated against other data sources. The top bottleneck locations were compared with the bottlenecks identified by States in their State Freight Plan and 2018 and 2020 Transportation Performance Management Performance Reports. Finally, the FHWA Office of Operations’ Office of Freight Management and Operations coordinated the locations with the FHWA Division Offices and State departments of transportation (DOTs) for review and comment.

Table 1 lists the Route, Urban Area, and State ranked by 2020 Truck Hours of Delay per Mile.

  • Annual Truck Hours of Delay per Mile is determined at the most congested segment of the corridor. Information is provided for AADTT, Annual Truck Hours of Delay, Planning Time Index (PTI), Buffer Index (BI), Travel Time Index (TTI), and Travel Reliability Index (TRI) is provided for the most congested segment of the corridor.
  • Total Corridor Congestion Cost is calculated for the full extent of delay along the congested corridor, which may include multiple segments.
Table 1. National List of Major Freight Highway Bottlenecks and Congested Corridors Based Upon Truck Hours of Delay per Mile, 2020 NPMRDS
2020 Rank
2019 Rank
 Road Urban Area State Generalized Bottleneck Location/Congested Corridor Length (Miles) AADTT (Trucks) Delay (Hours) Delay/ Mile Change from 2019 PTI BI TTI TRI Total Corridor Congestion Cost ($/year)
1
1
 I-95/I-295 New York-Newark NY/ NJ I-278/I-678 to NJ side of GW Bridge/SR-4
8.2
19,904
234,370
183,109
-30%
8.66
226%
2.66
1.66
$60,862,576
2
2
 I-90/I-94 Chicago IL I-94N to I-55
10.5
12,346
126,718
69,266
-51%
5.97
186%
2.05
1.60
$39,388,090
3
10
 I-278 New York-Newark NY I-95/I-678 to Grand Central Pkwy.; and SR-27 Prospect Expy. to SR-29 Queens Blvd.
7.7


9.2
13,842
541,710
67,503
-24%
5.41
177%
1.92
1.72
$107,226,782
4
6
 I-678 New York-Newark NY I-495 to Belt Parkway; and I-295/I-95 to south end Bronx-Whitestone Bridge
5.8 2.9
14,356
90,053
67,177
-33%
6.08
271%
1.92
2.11
$19,834,950
5
16
 I-495 New York-Newark NY Little Neck Parkway to Queens Midtown Tunnel
14.3
19,030
167,893
46,377
-35%
3.15
105%
1.47
1.61
$73,483,130
6
20
 I-87 New York-Newark NY I-278 to 230th Street
5.9
11,496
113,682
44,289
-32%
5.87
210%
1.86
2.36
$23,666,057
7
50
 I-75 Chattanooga TN At I-24
1.6
22,912
68,517
43,998
8%
3.17
115%
1.43
1.46
$5,440,999
8
-
 I-35 Waco TX At 5th Street
1.4
26,742
60,431
43,287
-32%
2.50
81%
1.37
1.95
$20,107,086
9
4
 I-35 Austin TX US 290 N to Ben White Blvd/SH 71
7.9
18,982
87,157
41,852
-62%
4.74
175%
1.70
2.25
$50,933,236
10
12
 I-10 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA 20th Street to I-5; And at I-605
15.3
6.0
13,082
103,007
41,130
-53%
5.30
181%
1.86
1.84
$65,058,852
11
14
 I-45 Houston TX US-90 to I-69
4.2
12,264
64,657
39,684
-53%
4.06
125%
1.75
1.52
$37,320,233
12
5
 I-610 Houston TX I-69 to I-10 and
At I-45
4.1
2.1
16,284
45,396
38,509
-63%
3.55
143%
1.45
2.16
$30,430,274
13
82
 I-35W Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX At I-30
1.2
13,532
70,787
37,995
52%
4.02
129%
1.74
1.45
$10,085,773
14
11
 I-24 Nashville-Davidson TN US-41 to SR-155
5.8
25,954
100,495
37,683
-57%
2.82
113%
1.31
1.83
$27,255,669
15
26
 I-10 Baton Rouge LA I-110 to SR-1
2.2
21,916
79,576
36,968
-36%
3.35
147%
1.35
2.94
$18,806,906
16
8
 I-290 Chicago IL I-90/I-94 to I-294
13.5
16,470
59,893
35,003
-63%
3.33
136%
1.40
2.09
$30,201,406
17
18
 I-5 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA SR-134 Ventura Fwy. to I-605
19.8
10,268
103,481
34,553
-50%
4.80
145%
1.92
1.70
$49,766,987
18
7
 I-405 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA At SR-73 and SR-2 Santa Monica Blvd to SR-42 Manchester Blvd
2.5 7.5
13,082
124,105
33,532
-65%
4.93
211%
1.58
2.86
$58,755,827
19
33
 I-30 Little Rock AR I-630 to I-40
2.9
40,500
62,015
33,062
-36%
1.52
30%
1.18
1.25
$8,219,699
20
37
 I-95 Washington VA SR-123 to SR-286
6.3
17,758
224,407
32,764
-33%
3.26
119%
1.41
1.83
$29,433,824
21
36
 I-270 Denver-Aurora CO I-25 to I-70
5.8
11,028
98,322
30,700
-39%
4.09
157%
1.58
2.07
$9,298,149
22
9
 I-69/ US-59 Houston TX SR-527 to I 10
4.4
9,284
32,014
29,879
-66%
6.21
253%
1.76
3.62
$19,917,616

23
34
 I-80 San Francisco-Oakland CA US-101 to Bay Bridge; And at I-580
10.7
5,318
52,639
29,708
-42%
7.36
257%
1.99
1.90
$18,096,301

24
22
 I-75/ I-85 Atlanta GA I-20 to I-75/I-85 split
4.2
16,616
19,889
29,150
-54%
4.12
195%
1.69
2.75
$10,569,277
25
43
 I-80/ I-94 Chicago IL I-294 to I-94
4.8
41,800
101,368
29,068
-38%
2.05
75%
1.18
1.92
$6,186,898
26
27
 I-25 Denver-Aurora CO I-70 to University Blvd
8.7
14,208
46,921
28,475
-49%
3.40
134%
1.45
2.00
$27,293,667
27
45
 I-71/ I-75 Cincinnati KY/OH I-275 to Western Hills
9.2
21,038
166,424
28,397
-36%
2.70
100%
1.32
1.99
$25,081,187
28
68
 I-30 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX I-35 to Grand Ave.
4
17,528
100,720
27,704
-12%
3.05
120%
1.38
1.99
$19,267,107
29
-
 I-24/ I-65 Nashville-Davidson TN I-65 to I-24
1.8
26,112
48,517
27,662
-14%
2.38
90%
1.25
2.01
$2,961,1650
30
32
 I-70 Denver-Aurora CO I-25 to I-270
4.8
12,566
64,712
27,6541
-48%%
3.40
135%
1.45
2.19
$13,540,489
31
-
 I-80/ I-94 Chicago IN I-66 (VA) to I-95 (MD)
9
46,002
41,471
27,648
-57%
1.61
43%
1.12
1.49
$31,420,056
32
28
 I-5 Portland OR Columbia River to Terwilliger Blvd
10.5
12,264
72,756
27,387
-50%
4.20
196%
1.40
3.55
$23,353,128
33
78
 I-95 Bridgeport-Stamford CT At US-1 in Fairfield; and At US-1 in Stamford
1.5 1.8
20,046
48,416
26,609
-2%
3.17
123%
1.38
2.29
$49,051,842
34
19
 I-76 Philadelphia PA University Ave to US-1
6.2
7,134
86,555
26,000
-61%
4.64
129%
1.80
1.65
$23,081,385
35
13
 I-710 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA Cesar Chavez Ave. to Atlantic Blvd.
3
10,874
34,873
25,518
-70%
3.51
135%
1.47
2.32
$20,079,146
36
30
 I-285 Atlanta GA East/ SR-400 to US-78; and West/ I-20 to Northside Dr
11.7 11.2
12,420
40,984
25,225
-53%
3.61
150%
1.44
1.97
$67,144,527
37
31
 I-495 Washington MD I-66 (VA) to I-95 (MD)
19.5
19,3584
130,868
25,171
-53%
2.42
91%
1.26
1.96
$42,907,765
38
17
 I-5
 Seattle WA I-90 to 85th St; and SR-18 to Port of Tacoma Rd
9.6 7.1
14,026
50,047
25,096
-64%
3.32
130%
1.41
1.93
$30,737,968
39
21
 I-105 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA I-405 to Long Beach Blvd
13.7
10,874
50,701
25,023
-61%
3.50
114%
1.54
1.48
$24,741,563
40
51
 I-676 Philadelphia PA I-76 to I-95
2.2
7,666
57,491
24,254
-40%
4.31
127%
1.87
1.47
$5,486,314
41
56
 I-35E Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX I-30 to John W. Carpenter/SH 183
2.8
14,976
55,930
23,363
-38%
2.75
103%
1.35
1.81
$13,369,641
42
15
 I-680 San Francisco-Oakland CA SR-262 to SR-238
4.3
12,476
61,568
23,180
-71%
3.80
165%
1.43
2.82
$4,366,568
43
63
 I-94 Chicago IL I-90/94 to US-14
2.3
16,000
74,921
22,285
-34%
2.70
105%
1.32
1.88
$7,415,369
44
84
 I-75 Atlanta GA I-85 to Moores Mill Rd
3.3
18,194
26,816
21,651
-9%
3.24
155%
1.27
3.00
$11,798,954
45
29
 I-55 Chicago IL I-94 to SR-171
10
11,800
94,901
21,627
-60%
3.29
125%
1.42
2.34
$25,564,476
46
3
 I-605 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA I-5 to SR-60
6.5
12,802
88,753
21,146
-85%
2.76
90%
1.38
1.48
$14,120,562
47
57
 I-635 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX I-35 to SR-78
14
19,250
27,812
20,637
-44%
2.32
82%
1.27
1.81
$30,709,177
48
59
 I-95 Philadelphia PA At I-676
2
10,142
36,568
20,230
-43%
2.83
97%
1.42
1.83
$6,557,444
49
43
 I-10 New Orleans LA SR-49 to I-610 to and at Pontchartrain Expy.
7.5 3.9
11,336
30,154
19,794
-68%
4.10
156%
1.59
2.07
$21,417,020
50
49
 I-405 Seattle WA I-90 to SR-520
3.7
10,630
86,763
19,469
-52%
3.99
155%
1.51
2.52
$6,969,360
51
44
 I-695 Baltimore MD I-95 to I-795
10.1
22,036
20,387
19,334
-58%
1.77
48%
1.20
1.43
$17,310,587
52
65
 I-24 Chattanooga TN I-75 to US-41
3.5
23,472
78,874
19,014
-41%
2.11
72%
1.22
1.84
$11,710,215
53
I-80/ I-294 Chicago IL I-94 to I-294
6.2
36,606
122,649
18,812
-43%
1.44
27%
1.13
1.35
$7,485,719
54
62
 I-75 Cincinnati OH SR-562 to SR-126
3
17,814
77,364
17,850
-48%
2.14
58%
1.22
1.77
$10,991,102
55
80
 I-95 New Haven CT I-91 to SR-10
1.8
19,640
32,444
17,765
-34%
1.92
58%
1.21
1.67
$1,980,159
56
94
 I-580 Livermore CA I-205 to First Street
7.1
14,928
124,122
14,470
-17%
2.23
75%
1.25
1.70
$7,575,595
57
-
 I-435 Kansas City MO At US-24
3.7
11,774
64,358
17,276
-15%
3.08
114%
1.36
1.96
$3,927,996
58
64
 I-880 San Jose CA At I-980; and At US-101
2.5 5.8
9,722
35,101
17,228
-48%
1.64
31%
1.20
1.19
$23,143,890
59
24
 I-10 Lake Charles LA At I-210
9.3
29,022
158,359
17,063
-72%
1.45
25%
1.14
1.30
$9,665,120
60
58
 I-95 Baltimore MD I-395 to I-895
4.2
18,224
49,419
16,920
-53%
1.76
32%
1.32
1.18
$11,109,218
61
40
 I-15 Riverside-San Bernardino CA At SR-91
2.2
9,934
36,713
16,775
-65%
3.13
129%
1.35
2.42
$4,899,917
62
55
 I-85 Atlanta GA SI-75 to SR 13/141; and I-285 to SR-378
2.8 6.6
8,182
52,475
16,670
-56%
4.79
170%
1.74
2.44
$15,354,291
63
-
 I-15 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA At I-10
3.2
11,680
53,013
16,622
-65%
2.69
107%
1.28
1.89
$5,156,032
64
35
 I-10 Houston TX I-69 to I-45
2.1
17,356
30,461
16,164
-64%
2.17
73%
1.25
1.84
$16,242,350
65
38
 I-110 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA I-10 to SR-42 Stauson Ave.
3.4
12,102
49,700
16,149
-50%
3.23
107%
1.49
2.05
$6,755,652
66
79
 I-24/ I-40 Nashville-Davidson TN I-24 to I-65
3.0
11,300
26,825
16,073
-53%
2.89
119%
1.32
2.21
$1,637,217
67
41
 I-15 Salt Lake City-West Valley City UT At I-215 (SR-173 to SR-48)
2.4
45,478
49,192
15,967
-74%
1.38
26%
1.29
1.25
$15,490,214
68
25
 I-210 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA SR-39/164 Azusa Ave to SR-19 Rosemead Blvd
10
12,464
114,186
15,682
-74%
2.53
103%
1.24
2.16
$22,869,600
69
61
 I-215 Riverside-San Bernardino CA I-10 to SR-80l
5.9
11,026
161,553
15,328
56%
2.44
74%
1.32
1.37
$17,321,952
70
88
 I-15 Las Vegas-Henderson NV I-515 to Tropicana Ave
5.5
18,936
72,397
15,251
-311%
1.94
61%
1.19
1.64
$11,710,310
71
48
 I-294 Chicago IL At I-290; and At I-90
6.1 3.9
30,570
46,549
15,223
-64%
1.68
48%
1.14
1.56
$10,821,997
72
95
 I-95/ I-495 Washington MD At SR-200
1.4
20,722
20,781
15,067
-43%
1.27
16%
1.10
1.11
$2,188,838
73
77
 I-93 Boston MA At I-90; and At SR-3
5.0; 5.5
10,180
53,981
14,864
-46%
2.83
99%
1.44
1.69
$9,853,317
74
-
 I-580 Concord CA At I-680
1.1
10,738
15,761
14,338
-71%
3.32
152%
1.32
2.57
$4,083,645
75
-
 I-12 Baton Rouge LA At I-10
3.1
18,918
44,658
14,285
-39%
1.24
8%
1.25
1.25
$3,867,734
76
69
 I-376 Pittsburgh PA Fort Pitt Bridge to Squirrel Hill
4.5
5,108
22,636
14,043
-55%
4.10
176%
1.47
2.96
$1,381,546
77
-
 I-20 Atlanta GA I-285 to SR-6
6.0
11,494
76,838
12,908
-33%
2.14
67%
1.26
1.51
$4,689,687
78
-
 I-820 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX At I-35W
3.0
7,742
38,359
12,898
178%
2.83
88%
1.44
1.38
$2,341,166
79
-
 I-40 Memphis AR At I-55
19,840
36,706
12,824
420%
1.15
-5%
1.20
1.08
$2,240,291
80
70
 I-10 Riverside-San Bernardino CA At I-215
1.6
13,934
108,455
12,797
-59%
1.96
54%
1.18
1.57
$8,266,256
81
81
 I-78 New York-Newark NJ US-22 to SR-440
5.2
11,644
16,557
12,509
-52%
1.94
39%
1.40
1.18
$3,703,807
82
71
 I-84 Waterbury CT At Union Street
1.7
8,568
21,377
12,597
33%
2.67
89%
1.34
1.61
$1,304,699
83
-
 I-39/ I-90 Rockford IL I-90 to US-20
1.7
14,410
21,740
12,518
613%
1.70
44%
1.18
1.56
$1,326,872
84
-
 I-70 St. Louis MO I-270 to SR-94
4.2
18,230
51,513
12,403
-34%
1.82
55%
1.14
1.60
$4,266,608
85
60
 I-270 St. Louis MO I-64 to SR 100
3.2
23,506
61,047
11,897
-66%
1.33
17%
1.13
1.20
$14,876,697
86
46
 I-90 Chicago IL I-90/94 to I-294
6.4
5,588
29,541
11,894
-73%
3.99
168%
1.49
2.36
$5,945,087
87
-
 I-4 Orlando FL SR-423 to SR-414
9.9
12,024
116,538
11,820
-15%
2.03
58%
1.25
1.49
$7,112,630
88
99
 I-40 Knoxville TN At I-140
2.3
22,756
70,375
11,557
-42%
1.47
31%
1.12
1.36
$5,328,433
89
87
 I-270 Washington MD At I-495
1.5
18,740
22,906
11,457
-49%
1.63
34%
1.21
1.19
$13,506,493
90
47
 I-64 St. Louis MO Market St to I-70 (over Mississippi River)
5
18,794
25,345
11,358
-73%
1.43
23%
1.16
1.21
$1,546,872
91
91
 I-4 Tampa-St. Petersburg FL I-275 to US 41/50th
3.5
12,364
65,590
11,354
-47%
2.00
52%
1.24
1.26
$4,003,162
92
98
 I-65 Nashville-Davidson TN I-40 to I-440
1.9
9,996
28,438
11,317
-44%
3.31
152%
1.31
2.88
$8,004,319
93
-
 I-225 Denver-Aurora CO At Colfax Ave
1.8
11,616
20,561
11,212
-41%
2.34
90%
1.23
1.91
$1,254,909
94
90
 I-95 Miami FL South of Florida Turnpike to SR 824
8
8,178
59,704
11,078
-49%
3.10
104%
1.47
1.67
$11,883,540
95
76
 I-95 FredericksBurg VA US-17 to Russell Rd
14.5
20,630
15,603
11,018
-61%
1.37
23%
1.9
1.28
$952,295
96
I-35 Kansas City KS US-69 to US-169
2.1
13,532
22,739
10,854
-20%
1.79
45%
1.20
1.52
$1,387,832
97
42
 I-15 Murrieta-Temecula-Menifee CA At SR-79
6,444
68,296
10,836
-44%
3.19
133%
1.37
2.45
$4,168,328
98
-
 I-20 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX At SR-360
24,334
62,859
10,827
-39%
1.42
26%
1.11
1.26
$7,328,494
99
-
 I-295 New York-Newark NY I-495 to Cross Island Pkwy
3.4
13,182
36,627
10,775
-38%
1.65
37%
1.18
1.31
$2,235,432
100
-
 I-75 Toledo OH At I-475 to South Ave
3.9
30,210
42,405
10,753
25%
1.19
8%
1.10
1.08
$3,530,697

Information is provided in the table for the primary bottleneck corridor, the bottleneck segment with the greatest delay, and congestion costs for all congested segments with the urbanized area.

  • Generalized Bottleneck Location: Extent of congestion the primary bottleneck on the corridor, estimated based upon review of corridor congestion scans in the NPMRDS and review of State Freight Plans. For major congested corridors, this may include multiple contiguous bottlenecks. For corridors with multiple distinct bottleneck locations, two corridors will be noted. These locations have been further refined based upon review of 2020 NPMRDS data and State 2020 Performance Reports.
  • Bottleneck Segment with Greatest Delay: The following information is provided for the segment along the corridor with the greatest truck hours of delay per mile:
    • AADTT (Trucks): NPMRDS total single unit and combination trucks conflated from Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS). Note, the prior year HPMS data is conflated to the NPMRDS at the beginning of each year. Therefore the 2020 NPMRDS shows traffic counts that were taken in 2018.
    • Delay per Mile: Annual Truck Hours of Delay determined as the difference between actual travel time and reference travel time (“free-flow” travel time), multiplied by truck volumes for the segment with the greatest delay. Annual Truck Hours of Delay is divided by the segment length to provide the Delay per Mile. For larger bottlenecks that span multiple roadway segments, delay is provided for the most congested segment and direction of the bottleneck, not the full corridor.
    • Change from 2019: The percent change in Annual Truck Hours of Delay per Mile from 2019 to 2020.
    • PTI: Ratio of the 95th percentile travel time to the reference travel time (“free-flow” travel time), computed during the AM and PM peak periods.
    • BI: Represents the extra time (or time cushion) that travelers must add to their average travel time when planning trips to ensure on-time arrival.
    • TTI: Ratio of the peak-period travel time to the reference travel time (“free-flow” travel time), computed for the AM and PM peak periods.
    • TRI: Ratio of the 95th percentile travel time to the 50th percentile travel time during five different time periods of the day. Calculated similar to the MAP-21 performance measure for Truck Travel Time Reliability (TTTR), however, results will differ from the NPMRDS TTTR due to route segmentation.
  • Total Congestion Cost of Full Corridor ($/year): Calculated for the full extent of delay along the congested corridor as a function of both the time and fuel used while the truck is in congested traffic, factoring costs of personnel, commercial vehicle operation, and wasted fuel. For major bottlenecks with long congestion queues, this will include multiple roadway segments. For major congested corridors, the congestion cost will include the full cost of congestion along the corridor through the entire urban area, which may include multiple bottlenecks. This may include delay at other congested segments beyond the primary bottleneck in the urban area.

Changes Between 2019 and 2020

There was an overall large reduction in truck delay between 2019 and 2020 due to reduced travel during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Nationwide, there was a reduction in total truck delay on the Interstate system of 21 percent between 2019 and 2020. For the top 100 bottlenecks, which represent some of the most congested corridors in major metropolitan areas, there was reduction in total truck delay of 45 percent.

Based upon a comparison of truck hours of delay per mile, the following bottlenecks saw the greatest relative percent change (increase or decrease) in delay between 2019 and 2020. Those locations that saw an increase in delay in 2020 are mostly attributed to major construction projects and work zones along the corridors. Any changes due to capacity or operational improvements will show up in subsequent year analyses.

The following bottlenecks saw the greatest percent increase in delay from 2019. Increased delay is largely associated with major roadwork.

Table 2. Greatest Increase in Delay Between 2019 and 2020
Road Urban Area State Increase in Delay Per Mile from 2019
Hours Percent
I-39/I-90 Rockford IL
10,762
613%
I-40 Memphis AR
10,356
420%
I-820 Dallas-Fort Worth TX
8,258
178%
I-80 Rural CA
9,450
134%
I-35W Dallas TX
13,042
52%
I-84 Waterbury CT
3,148
33%
I-75 Chattanooga TN
3,251
8%
 

The following bottlenecks saw the greatest percent decrease in delay from 2019:

Table 3. Greatest Decrease in Delay Between 2019 and 2020
Road Urban Area State Decrease in Delay Per Mile from 2019
Hours Percent
I-605 Los Angeles CA
(118,631)
-85%
I-10 Phoenix AZ
(38,766)
-80%
I-15 Salt Lake City UT
(45,367)
-74%
I-210 Los Angeles CA
(44,732)
-74%
I-64 St. Louis MO
(31,413)
-73%
I-35 St. Antonio TX
(28,629)
-73%
I-90 Chicago IL
(31,451)
-73%
I-680 San Francisco CA
(58,060)
-71%
I-40 Albuquerque NM
(22,682)
-71%
I-580 Concord CA
(34,333)
-71%

Based upon changes to truck hours of delay per mile, the following bottlenecks saw a relative increase in delay, moving the locations to the top 100 bottlenecks, or a relative decrease in delay, dropping the locations below the top 100 bottlenecks.

The following bottlenecks were added to the list in 2020:

Table 4. Locations Added to Top 100 Between 2019 and 2020
Road Urban Area State
I-35 Waco TX
I-24/I-65 Nashville-Davidson TN
I-80/I-94 Chicago IN
I-80/I-294 Chicago IL
I-435 Kansas City MO
I-15 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA
I-580 Concord CA
I-12 Baton Rouge LA
I-20 Atlanta GA
I-820 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX
I-40 Memphis AR
I-39/I-90 Rockford IL
I-70 St. Louis MO
I-4 Orlando FL
I-225 Denver-Aurora CO
I-35 Kansas City KS
I-20 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX
I-295 New York-Newark NY
I-75 Toledo OH

The following bottlenecks from 2019 dropped off the list in 2020:

Table 5. Locations Removed from Top 100 Between 2019 and 2020
Road Urban Area State
I-20/I-59 Birmingham AL
I-10 Phoenix AZ
I-805 San Diego CA
I-238 San Fransisco CA
I-395 Washington DC/VA
I-95 Wilmington DE
I-65 Indianapolis IN
I-95 Boston MA
I-494 Minneapolis MN
I-94 Minneapolis MN
I-670 Kansas City MO
I-280 New York NJ
I-40 Albuquerque NM
I-71 Columbus OH
I-205 Portland OR
I-405 Portland OR
I-84 Portland OR
I-35 San Antonio TX
I-15 Ogden UT

Mapped Locations

The following map shows the top Interstate bottlenecks in the U.S. (table 1) based on Freight Mobility Indicators of Annual Truck Hours of Delay per Mile for 2020.

Map-1. Major Freight Highway Bottlenecks Based Upon Truck Hours of Delay per Mile, 2020 NPMRDS

Map-1. Major Freight Highway Bottlenecks Based Upon Truck Hours of Delay per Mile, 2020 NPMRDS
Map showing the 2019 top 100 bottlenecks by truck hours of delay per mile: I-95/I-295 in New York, NY/ NJ 263,116 truck hours of delay per mile, I-90/I-94 in Chicago, IL 140,942 truck hours of delay per mile, I-605 in Los Angeles, CA 139,777 truck hours of delay per mile, I-35 in Austin, TX 111,359 truck hours of delay per mile, I-610 in Houston, TX 104,009 truck hours of delay per mile, I-678 in New York, NY 100,237 truck hours of delay per mile, I-405 in Los Angeles, CA 95,686 truck hours of delay per mile, I-290 in Chicago, IL 94,778 truck hours of delay per mile, I-69/US-59 in Houston, TX 89,185 truck hours of delay per mile, I-278 in New York, NY 88,339 truck hours of delay per mile, I-24 in Nashville, TN 86,920 truck hours of delay per mile, I-10 in Los Angeles, CA 86,745 truck hours of delay per mile, I-710 in Los Angeles, CA 85,730 truck hours of delay per mile, I-45 in Houston, TX 84,471 truck hours of delay per mile, I-680 in San Francisco, CA 81,240 truck hours of delay per mile, I-495 in New York, NY 70,916 truck hours of delay per mile, I-5 in Seattle, WA 69,732 truck hours of delay per mile, I-5 in Los Angeles, CA 68,560 truck hours of delay per mile, I-76 in Philadelphia, PA 67,019 truck hours of delay per mile, I-87 in New York, NY 64,891 truck hours of delay per mile, I-105 in Los Angeles, CA 64,807 truck hours of delay per mile, I-75/ I-85 in Atlanta, GA 63,432 truck hours of delay per mile, I-10 in New Orleans, LA 61,114 truck hours of delay per mile, I-10 in Lake Charles, LA 61,114 truck hours of delay per mile, I-210 in Los Angeles, CA 60,414 truck hours of delay per mile, I-10 in Baton Rouge, LA 57,724 truck hours of delay per mile, I-25 in Denver, CO 55,696 truck hours of delay per mile, I-5 in Portland, OR 55,154 truck hours of delay per mile, I-55 in Chicago, IL 53,860 truck hours of delay per mile, I-285 in Atlanta, GA 53,821 truck hours of delay per mile, I-495 in Washington, MD/ VA 53,507 truck hours of delay per mile, I-70 in Denver, CO 53,461 truck hours of delay per mile, I-30 in Little Rock, AR 51,924 truck hours of delay per mile, I-80/I-580 in San Francisco, CA 51,110 truck hours of delay per mile, I-10 in Houston, TX 50,107 truck hours of delay per mile, I-270 in Denver, CO 50,104 truck hours of delay per mile, I-95 in Washington, VA 49,241 truck hours of delay per mile, I-110/CA-110 in Los Angeles, CA 48,762 truck hours of delay per mile, I-10 in Phoenix, AZ 48,254 truck hours of delay per mile, I-15 in Riverside, CA 48,175 truck hours of delay per mile, I-15 in Salt Lake City, UT 47,435 truck hours of delay per mile, I-15 in Los Angeles, CA 47,170 truck hours of delay per mile, I-80/I-94 in Chicago, IL 46,615 truck hours of delay per mile, I-695 in Baltimore, MD 46,428 truck hours of delay per mile, I-71/I-75 in Cincinnati, KY/ OH 44,603 truck hours of delay per mile, I-90 in Chicago, IL 43,345 truck hours of delay per mile, I-64 in St. Louis, MO 42,771 truck hours of delay per mile, I-294 in Chicago, IL 42,295 truck hours of delay per mile, I-405 in Seattle, WA 40,760 truck hours of delay per mile, I-75 in Chattanooga, TN 40,747 truck hours of delay per mile, I-676 in Philadelphia, PA 40,448 truck hours of delay per mile, I-238 in San Francisco, CA 40,088 truck hours of delay per mile, I-35 in San Antonio, TX 39,338 truck hours of delay per mile, I-494 in Minneapolis, MN 38,514 truck hours of delay per mile, I-85 in Atlanta, GA 37,663 truck hours of delay per mile, I-35E in Dallas, TX 37,601 truck hours of delay per mile, I-635 in Dallas, TX 37,059 truck hours of delay per mile, I-95 in Baltimore, MD 36,203 truck hours of delay per mile, I-95 in Philadelphia, PA 35,789 truck hours of delay per mile, I-270 in St. Louis, MO 35,500 truck hours of delay per mile, I-215 in Riverside, CA 35,057 truck hours of delay per mile, I-75 in Cincinnati, OH 34,492 truck hours of delay per mile, I-94 in Chicago, IL 33,752 truck hours of delay per mile, I-880 in San Francisco, CA 32,983 truck hours of delay per mile, I-24 in Chattanooga, TN 32,057 truck hours of delay per mile, I-40 in Albuquerque, NM 31,823 truck hours of delay per mile, I-805 in San Diego, CA 31,791 truck hours of delay per mile, I-30 in Dallas, TX 31,390 truck hours of delay per mile, I-376 in Pittsburgh, PA 31,346 truck hours of delay per mile, I-10 in Riverside, CA 31,196 truck hours of delay per mile, I-84 in Hartford, CT 29,849 truck hours of delay per mile, I-405 in Portland, OR 29,467 truck hours of delay per mile, I-95 in Wilmington, DE 28,402 truck hours of delay per mile, I-94 in Minneapolis, MN 28,016 truck hours of delay per mile, I-205 in Portland, OR 27,951 truck hours of delay per mile, I-95 in Fredericksburg, VA 27,933 truck hours of delay per mile, I-93 in Boston, MA 27,386 truck hours of delay per mile, I-95 in Bridgeport, CT 27,289 truck hours of delay per mile, I-40 in Nashville, TN 27,148 truck hours of delay per mile, I-95 in New Haven, CT 26,805 truck hours of delay per mile, I-78 in New York, NJ 26,033 truck hours of delay per mile, I-35W in Dallas, TX 24,953 truck hours of delay per mile, I-15 in Ogden, UT 24,114 truck hours of delay per mile, I-75 in Atlanta, GA 23,791 truck hours of delay per mile, I-65 in Indianapolis, IN 23,639 truck hours of delay per mile, I-20/I-59 in Birmingham, AL 23,124 truck hours of delay per mile, I-270 in Washington, MD 22,345 truck hours of delay per mile, I-15 in Las Vegas, NV 22,146 truck hours of delay per mile, I-280 in New York, NJ 22,029 truck hours of delay per mile, I-95 in Miami, FL 21,894 truck hours of delay per mile, I-4 in Tampa, FL 21,620 truck hours of delay per mile, I-670 in Kansas City, MO 21,163 truck hours of delay per mile, I-395 in Washington, DC/ VA 21,150 truck hours of delay per mile, I-580 in Livermore, CA 20,960 truck hours of delay per mile, I-95 in Washington, MD 20,807 truck hours of delay per mile, I-95 in Boston, MA 20,726 truck hours of delay per mile, I-84 in Portland, OR 20,359 truck hours of delay per mile, I-65 in Nashville, TN 20,093 truck hours of delay per mile, I-40 in Knoxville, TN 20,059 truck hours of delay per mile, I-71 in Columbus, OH 19,511 truck hours of delay per mile.

Other Bottlenecks

The analysis in this report uses delay per mile for assessing bottlenecks to allow for comparison over the entire Interstate system across all States. Individual State DOTs and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) use a range of bottleneck identification methods based upon their freight plan development process and local traffic characteristics, infrastructure constraints, and impediments to efficient freight movement.

There is a range of methods for measuring congestion, delay, and reliability. Reliability is another factor that is important to the freight industry and can be measured with metrics such as the Truck Travel Time Reliability national performance measure or some of the other indices listed in Table 1.

In addition to congestion-based delay, some truck freight bottlenecks can be attributed to infrastructure restrictions that uniquely impact trucks, such as bridges with weight or clearance restrictions; steep grades; frequent adverse weather; or constraints at facilities, such as ports, intermodal rail facilities, and border crossings.
Individual State Freight Plans should be reviewed for additional information on the various types of freight bottlenecks.

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