Chicago's Traffic Woes Surpass Los Angeles
CHICAGO (CBS)--Traffic in the Chicago area is getting worse, according to new data released this month showing drivers spend an average of 138 hours a year sitting in traffic.
The real kicker is Chicago has surpassed Los Angeles and is now the third-worst city for traffic in the nation. Boston had the worst traffic congestion in the country, followed by Washington, D.C.
The study found traffic worsened by 4 percent last year compared to the previous year.
Chicago ranks a little bit better on the global scale, however. The report, from transportation analytics firm INRIX, puts Chicago as the 23rd most congested city in the world. Bogota had the worst traffic among the 200 cities in the world that were included in the report.
Traffic congestion isn't just a waste of time, it's also costly. INRIX estimates drivers lose approximately $1,920 per year on congestion.
The Chicago area as a whole loses an estimated $6.2 billion annually due to congestion, according to INRIX.
It's no big surprise that time of day had a big effect on when drivers experienced the worst traffic.
The report shows motorists average the lowest peak speed--less than 25 MPH--during the worst portions of the morning and afternoon commutes.
The severity of the congestion varied by road. Two stretches of Chicago roadways had the second and third-worst traffic in the country, according to INRIX. The second-worst stretch of traffic America was I-94/I-90 between the Stevenson Expressway and I-294. Drivers were delayed an average of 26 minutes.
The third-worst was I-290 between I-94 and I-294. The average delay was 23 minutes.
New York City's Cross Bronx Expressway was ranked worse than Chicago.