Kennedy Expressway Ranked Worst Bottleneck In U.S.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Anyone who has used the Kennedy Expressway at rush hour knows how bad the traffic can be, so it should come as no big surprise that it has been ranked as the worst bottleneck in the country.
A study by the American Highway Users Alliance found the chokepoint extends 12 miles – from Nagle Avenue to Roosevelt Road, and costs motorists nearly 17 million hours of wasted time in traffic each year.
That cost about $418 million in lost time and nearly 6.4 million gallons of wasted fuel in 2014, according to the study.
Two other stretches of Chicago expressway also ranked in the 50 worst in the U.S. – The Dan Ryan Expressway between the Stevenson Expressway and Pershing Road, and The Edens Expressway between the Kennedy junction and Elston Avenue.
Meantime, Los Angeles had the most bottlenecks among the 50 worst, with six of the top 10, and 12 of the top 50. New York also had nine of the top 50.
Policymakers said the problem can be fixed, and have urged Congress to invest in infrastructure and technology to reduce the number of bottlenecks across the nation.