Chicago and Los Angeles have the worst highway bottlenecks in the country, according to a new report from the American Highway Users Alliance. The report, Unclogging America’s Arteries 2015, found that Chicago had the most congested stretch of highway measured in hours in traffic, and is followed closely by six different bottlenecks in Los Angeles.
Anthony Foxx, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, congratulated AHUA on the report and said the timing was ideal as Congress works to create a six-year surface transportation reauthorization. Currently, members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate conference committee are reconciling differences between highway bills that passed each chamber as the most-traveled day of the year approaches.
“This report furthers the unassailable truth that America is stuck in traffic. The good news is that this problem is solvable, and Congress can be part of the solution. As a long-term surface transportation bill moves through conference, I urge our elected leaders to provide the funding growth and policies that are necessary to improve commutes, to raise the bar for safety and to keep the country moving in the 21st century,” Foxx said.
The National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA) is a sponsor of the bottlenecks study that found it might be possible to cut 133 million lbs. of carbon dioxide emissions by fixing Chicago’s bottleneck alone. Additionally, the report found these benefits could be realized over 20 years if other major bottlenecks were fixed:
- Saving $39 billion due to lost time.
- Saving 830 million gal. of fuel.
- Reducing over 17 billion lbs. of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Preventing 211,000 vehicle crashed.
“NSSGA is happy to have supported publication of this very important report. It provides evidence to the conference committee of the many benefits that can come from investing in infrastructure and relieving the congestion clots in our nation’s vascular system,” said Pam Whitted, senior vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs.