Kennedy Expressway In Chicago Has The Worst Traffic Bottleneck In The U.S.
By Kate Shepherd in News on Nov 23, 2015 9:32PM
It might not be a surprise to drivers but Chicago has the most congested traffic bottleneck in the country. The 12-mile stretch of the Kennedy Expressway (I-90) between the Circle Interchange (I-290) and Edens junction (I-94) was rated the worst bottleneck in the country in a study by the American Highway Users Alliance.
The hours lost on that frustrating stretch of road costs drivers and passengers 16.9 million hours' worth of time, the equivalent of $418 million last year.
It's terrible for the environment as well. More than 6.3 million gallons of fuel is wasted on that 12-mile stretch while cars sit or crawl in traffic. Fixing that bottleneck would likely reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 133 million pounds.
Chicago had a couple of other traffic bottlenecks make it into the top 50: the Kennedy Expressway (I-90, again) between the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) and West Pershing Road at No. 23 and I-94 between the Kennedy Expressway (I-90, there's a pattern here) interchange and North Elston Avenue.
Even though we have the worst bottleneck, we still can't compare our traffic problems to Los Angeles, which swept the study's second to seventh worst bottlenecks in the country.
[H/T WGN]