How Bad is the Circle Interchange for Truckers? Pretty Bad.

By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 22, 2011 8:40PM

If you think your experiences with the Circle Interchange were bad, be glad you aren't a trucker, what with those deadlines to meet and stimulants (legal and otherwise) coursing through their systems to keep them alert.

Turns out the nearly constant bottleneck at the Interchange is the worst in the nation for freight traffic, according to a survey released by the American Transportation Research Institute and the Federal Highway Administration. The average speed for truckers making their way through the Interchange was 29 MPH. The worst time of day for a trucker to be on the Circle is during the evening rush; truckers averaged 15 MPH between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Given our experiences on the Circle Interchange we were under the assumption 15 MPH was the average speed all the time.

The survey used used GPS technology and information to understand the impact of traffic congestion on truck-based freight.