Which US Interstate Has The Worst Traffic? 

Atlanta traffic is as bad as any in the USA.

@@us1fedvet That is due to a poorly planned highway system.

I clicked on this thinking the perimeter would be #1 lol

Really surprised, maybe he’s never heard of I-285

I live near the 20/285 interchange on the East side and it's ABISMAL . Finally were getting a expansion but since it's not the most wealthy area like the Top End, I think it's gonna get delayed by some years. That one interchange backs up into the following county almost 15 miles out on the daily.

I-75 hands down! Just wait till they start working on the Cincinnati bridge section over the OHIO river. A bridge that should have been replaced 30 years ago.

You miss I-94, which connects Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, and the Twin Cities. West of the Twin Cities it thins out a lot, but I would expect I-94 to contains some of the most heavily-traveled stretches of rural Interstate.

I would think i93 would be up there too

I believe it is either I-95 or I-75.

@Albo alt that is more like a standstill, only because practically al traffic has to pour into I-495 and there are no thru Interstates. This causes a bottleneck that extends all the way to Dumfries in the morning. It is awful.

Actually, most of the freeways I've driven have mile markers in tenths. Pennsylvania Turnpike included

@@Saxshoe Perhaps I've lived in the rural U.S. too long. The "tenthers" are also a help if one breaks down--helps the road assistance folks find you easier. But, it is costly. Maybe 1/2 mile markers?

Lol ny has alot of signage like that

The 405 in LA doesn't have those. It's the only state whose freeways don't have mile markers.

Tennessee uses 1/10 mile markers even on the most rural areas of I40

No mention of 287 though. I used to live over there near Bound Brook and moved to trenton. Traffic is night and day. In the cities there are just so many ways to get different places that it is not usually congested unless it’s rush hour. On the other hand Bound Brook and the surrounding areas including Bridgewater were fucked when it comes to congestion. I always remember sitting in traffic on 287.

@@z609gaming better than 280 from GSP to the end

The forsaken 72 miles of miserable carmagedon, which shall not be referred to by name, is the single worst freeway ever built. I drove on it once, hated it the whole time. If I ever get a nuclear weapon, the first thing I am bombing is that awful road.

I remember before they finished the express lanes between I-35 and the Central Expressway, I-635 was a highway that must be avoided at all cost (that stretch still sucks but at least the express lanes never have traffic if you’re able to spend a few bucks). Can’t wait for the current stretch they’re working on to be complete

I345 in downtown has everyone beat. It has 180,000 ADT and is only 1.7 miles long, which is 11.8 times higher than I405. 635 has 200,000 ADT but is 37 miles long, giving it a score of 5,400 AADT/mile, higher than 210 but lower than 405.

I definitely nominate this.

I live here in Dallas and it’s nothing compared to freeways in other states I’ve lived. It’s backed up but it’s no worse than interstate 270 in st.louis mov

Tell that to I-610 in Houston. Especially on the west side of town.

I-280 and I-405 are not loops according to the maps in the video, though I-285 around Atlanta is a loop. I-475 also doesn't fit as a loop. By for the real answer wikipedia is your friend. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_auxiliary_Interstate_Highways

I-376 in Pennsylvania originated as a spur and became a loop. I-476 in Pennsylvania began as a loop and became a spur. I-155 connects two Illinois interstates, and I-155 in Missouri and Tennessee will do much the same.

@@darkstorminc This is what the Federal Highway Administration has to say on the matter, and I think they're a pretty good authority on the matter: "Connecting Interstate routes and full or partial circumferential beltways around or within urban areas carry a three-digit number. These routes are designated with the number of the main route and an even-numbered prefix. Supplemental radial and spur routes, connecting with the main route at one end, also carry a three-digit number, using the number of the main route with an odd-number prefix."

Seems feds have forgotten the rules on numbering.

Odd - Spur Even - Loop or bypass

As someone who recently moved to Orange County from St.Louis, Missouri, I can say the 405 is bad, but it seems like the 5 is worse, IMO. I've also driven the 5 up between Tacoma and near the Canadian border in Washington, and it's god awful up there too.

405 is not technically an interstate but an extension since it only runs in the LA metro area, but I totally agree.

...and is one of the few options to get to LAX which has it's own separate traffic nightmare.

@@Julianna.Domina Yes the Traffic between Tacoma and Everett is always so damn bad. Seattle has the worst traffic I've ever experienced.

If you look closely at a map of LA, you can see freeway intersections built but no freeways. There was supposed to be a freeway going from the 405 at La Cienaga Bl to the 101 at Highland Ave. This could have been a great airport freeway alternative.

Also eastbound from 294 during rush hour is a nightmare!

@@jakem6720 Haha I'll bet, I'm not even from Chicago. The only reason I know about this is because I went to a white sox game last summer and was driving on the Eisenhower to crash at a friend's place in Oak Park and the traffic was hell even at 11PM lol

worst traffic ive seen is on the kennedy heading into chicago. it was a random saturday afternoon bumper to bumper. im not from chicago and don’t usually deal with that

You should check out East St Louis, IL as well as Gary, IN and Youngstown, OH. Some truly incredibly prosperous cities that might be able to give Camden, NJ a run for its money

That sounds like the booming metropolis of Chester PA just down the Delaware River from Camden 😆

I 40 & I 10 overall is heavy traveled , but going through the desert it’s probably not congested

@@jameswells1743 Most of the bad parts on I-40 are in Tennessee and North Carolina. I-10, I-80, and 90 are probably the most heavily traveled east-west interstates, even though 70 probably also comes close.

Unfortunately, I've yet to see I-75 Atlanta traffic be really bad, since I always drove through that stretch anywhere from 3-5 AM in the morning on the way to Florida.

@@jakem6720 Yeah, those are probably the best times to drive that stretch. But I've seen the top end of I-285 at a dead stop during those times.

@@jakkew5753 I-40 in Nashville and Knoxville are absolutely awful during rush hour.

I remember reading in an article (like 2019) where Corona was the #4 worst commute in the US. Palmdale (the 14) was the only Los Angeles commute that beat it for misery, at #1.

I have spent multiple hours in both directions going from Corona to Anaheim or vice versa on that freeway😂 I started taking the 241 thinking that would help but now traffic is regularly backed up thru the damn toll booths🤷🏼‍♂️😂

@@kytoober5137 Not sure where it stands today but even with the widening, it's still very very slow thru Corona. Heck, it's slow throughout its entire length. The entire length of the 91 is heavily traveled

Agreed! That portion is definitely the worst by far! Literally is like a parking lot all the time! Also, I-45 is pretty bad too, especially the northern portion between Beltway 8 and downtown Houston.

I can attest to this. I-45, I-610, and the Katy Freeway (I-10 W) are the undoubtedly nastiest freeways in the entire Houston area. Even Beltway 8 is getting nasty despite no more cash lanes on the toll road portion...

same here man. i-5 has a ton of construction too which is annoying. i particularly don’t like i-5 in mission viejo

@@davidloomis6668 I usually don't go that far south so I guess I've lucked out. But the worst part of I-5 for me is the southeasterly stretch from Downtown Los Angeles to Norwalk. That section of freeway *always* has traffic during the daytime, no matter what day of the week. It could be 1 PM on a Saturday and there will be traffic. And I'm like, where are all these people going???

This is so true. 405 is always fast except just past LAX to the Sepulveda Pass. The 5 is worse because of the congestion in Irvine to the 57 and then Cerritos to Burbank.

@@ec1628 Going southbound I also find consistent traffic on I-405 from I-110 to I-605.

@@kjhuang At least there you might see the blimp!!

I go around it because I refuse to get close to it. At one point I was paying the tolls everyday to go on 130 but that became expensive real quick so I just take 183. I35 is HELL through austin even at night

That is so true.

It is considered the most dangerous interstate in the country. Though I think most parts of I-4 is pretty simple, people just don't know how to drive on I-4

well i-4 isnt a spur route so it cant be included so imo the next best one wouldve been the 275 in Tampa or the 295 in JAX.

I, on the other hand, also knowing the good and bad, advocate freeways with no hesitation.

The practical reality is that freeways used to be cheap to build through farms, ranches, and orange groves sixty to forty years ago and not so cheap to build in any densely-populated area. Real estate is expensive even in slums, and so is the relocation of utilities. We may continue to build freeways in rural areas, but urban expressways are becoming extre3mely costly. Even adding lanes can be out of the question due to costs of the acquisition of land and relocation of utilities . . Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas are building urban or suburban expressways, but these involve land already condemned for such use on a build-and-lease basis with hefty tolls for those who use those routes.

@@paulbrower4265 Then, let us take an authoritarian approach. Do eminent domain, and then say the land is a tax payment, and reduce whatever anyone involved would pay in taxes by that amount. Then, for labor, offer road contractors to pay business taxes in labor on the project, and then get this thing built.

@@dannypipewrench533 how come you advocate for highways? I’m specifically speaking of highways in cities since you seemed to say you support them in general.

​@@skygge1006 Well, I like the freedom they offer to the traveler. No need to wait for the train to stop at the next station in order to go back home all of a sudden. Of course, you do have to wait for the next exit, which might be a problem if you are on I-70 in Utah... I know that traffic jams can be a problem. I figure we divert traffic around cities by upgrading existing roads into freeways. We put up toll stations on the roads into cities to discourage driving into them unless you need to. We will use traffic cameras to administer fines to anybody who drives through the city without getting off the highway. We raise the speed limit on the bypass route to encourage travelers with that sweet sweet 85 miles per hour. Basically, we try to make sure the cars in the city are there for the city, not just going through it. If we reduce the number of cars entering a city, we can counteract the negative effects of widening highways. Running a "double deck" freeway would double the size and capacity of the road. Of course, adding lanes ultimately makes traffic worse. But, doubling the size of a city's entire freeway network would not be caught by population growth for a long time, or maybe not at all if through traffic elimination is significant enough. A modular system would also allow much cheaper and less space-intensive expansion of freeways. An extra deck could be added whenever needed, each one essentially being a full, brand new freeway. A deck made of a steel grate would be light and cheap relative to other roads. Many bridges already use these. Segregating trucks and buses from cars would help. Truck routes help alleviate the traffic, but cars are usually still allowed to be with the trucks. Completely separating them could solve many problems. I live near Phoenix, Arizona. I am on the west side, so I have to deal with all of the traffic between Phoenix and Los Angeles. Los Angeles, of course, has a huge port, so I have to put up with a lot of trucks. There have been days where I had to wait on the on ramp for dozens of trucks to go by. The problem with our freeways is that they are being upgraded from roads built decades ago. What we need for good roads is a new approach to highway building. The Interstate System is drastically different from the nation highway network it improved. The old roads went right through cities and were little more than surface streets. Then came limited access Interstates. All we need is a big leap in highway design just like limited access when it was first introduced.

I used to think Houston traffic, especially the Katy Freeway, was bad until I went to school at UCLA. The 405 just puts everything else I have ever seen to shame when it comes to ridiculous traffic. When I started working downtown after graduating I'd just drive Wilshire the whole way to avoid the 405.

@@homerthompson416 If you were driving on Wilshire Blvd to downtown, you were avoiding the 10, not the 405. I know the numbering would be off but some of us think the 405 should be renamed the 666... I live in the San Fernando Valley and generally try to avoid having to go to West L.A. or Santa Monica. If I am going to the beach I'll go west (north, allegedly) on U.S. 101 and take one of the canyons (Topanga, Malibu, or Kanan Rd) to the Malibu beaches that are more scenic as well.

@@ZackfromNoHo Nope I was avoiding the 405 which was a nightmare from Wilshire to the 10 when I lived in the area. 10 wasn't nearly as bad in my experience.

Ditto for the LIE.

@@valerieannrumpf4151LIE has the stretch in Suffolk where it’s not too bad. But every part of 278 is horrid.

Omg, this

I definitely agree! I-295, I-678, I-478, I-695, and perhaps I-495 in NY also seem like good candidates. Upstate NY definitely drags down the average congestion for the state.

Although I-278 through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx definitely seems like the worst!

@@travelfiftystates314 it is really odd, I was searching for statistics on i-278 for half an hour, and it turns out that it only has a score of (3,542) by his metrics.

@@kazuichicarter-mcginty3565 Wow interesting. Maybe that is due to the lower capacity outside of the Staten Island stretch. Seems like this metric favors highways with more lanes since wide highways definitely worsens ADT.

The worst mistake I did: I live in Stockton CA, and Study in Irvine. During thanksgiving I decided to visit family in NorCal. I did 9hrs! Most of the time I spent in the car was in the 405 through LA.

When I lived in Culver City, I did take I-405 the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving, and it was the worst traffic ever - worse than what I've seen in Mexico City after a bullfight gets out. After living in Culver City for five years, in 1994 I moved to Venice and have stayed west of I-405 ever since. In Venice I was west of State Hwy 1 (Lincoln Blvd) and stayed there for 15 years until I finally settled in Westchester, close to I-405. Unfortunately, I am close to the Manchester exit (when approaching from the south), and the new sports stadium in Inglewood creates a lot of traffic for that exit. From the north, I take the La Tijera exist to get to my house.

I've traveled all 405s extensively (lived in WA, OC, LA, drove through Portland many times) and lo and behold the traffic is awful on all of them. In terms of Pain! its the LA/OC 405 in 1st, Seattle/Bellevue 405 in 2nd, and Portland 405 in 3rd. Seriously I would rather stick a broomstick up my ass than commute on a 405 again anywhere, did it for years and glad to be done with it. Other Cities say they have traffic but I've never experienced anything close to LA freeways at rush hour. Traffic in infamously congested Bangkok moved faster IMHO than LA traffic.

California doesn't have bad traffic as long as you stay out of Los Angeles and San Francisco. This is coming from someone from San Diego.

And if you had gone to California you'd be singing a different tune, as one trucker to another.

@@JediTev I went to the upper part of the State around Sacramento and Stockton so I didn't get the SoCal experience that is true. But 6 hours to go 10 miles on many a NJ highway is pretty much my record for not moving on a highway.....

Along with the I-294 Tri State Tollway around Chicago.

Not nearly as bad. Live in Bellevue now, but from Socal. The California 405 trumps what east siders deal with in WA. Not to say it doesn't still suck 😂.

Surprised me as well when I realized Seattle has its own I-405 me being from SoCal. But yeah the Seattle 405 has nothing on LA 405 in terms of traffic. Especially during peak hours of LAX traffic just spilling onto the freeway.

Ly bro

@@BeaverGeography You've got me as a subscriber/friend, dude!

It's a misleading metric to be sure. Honolulu has one thoroughfare that creates immense congestion. But, also, there are more cars on LA's freeways than there are people in the entire state of Hawaii. So, scale becomes an issue in ranking these places.

@Joey The blind Panther Probably 😭😭

Yeah, I use it when ever I return to Fresno, from LA. One time i had to get on it at 4:30pm and it made the regular 3hr trip like 3hrs 45 mins.

It took me 5 hours to get from Thousand Oaks to Irvine via the 101 and 405, I was heading home to San Diego from college. That was three years ago and since then I've gone out of my way to avoid LA entirely.

I-610 on the west side of Houston deserves an honorable mention at the very least...

The Katy Freeway is a real thing. It's massive and makes me doubt the survival of our species.

It's real! And it's really nothing compared to this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8Mlaa132R1c.html

No, this is for real. The photoshopped one you're thinking of is what some clever Photoshop artist made of an L.A. freeway and surface artery.

currently working on one of the projects by you in Fredericksburg. I know that when the project is finished, the congestion will just push further south/north after the GP/CD lanes are built. just hoping for a huge washington bypass route in the future.

@@McNasty_0 you are absolutely correct. If the powers to be were thinking they’d be building another span for the 301 Bridge and turn that into an interstate (97?) from outside of Baltimore all the way to RVA. Put tolls on it and you’d be way ahead of the curve.

I-95 throughout New England is much worse.

The LIE would like a word with you.

as a jerseyan yes Camden is quite the “metropolis” 😂😂😂

@@sureal9125 No, I meant the fact where he said it was beautiful...

💯💯💯💯

Said the same for DC. I'm sure he means I-95 atleast goes through the area of those two cities.

Its also the spur designation in Seattle but that may help. Took me 3 hours on rush hour to get from Tacoma to Everett on that road

@@parkmannate4154 That freeway - there’s a good way between Tacoma and North of Sea-Tac to get to the split - would be more equivalent to I205 on the mid-east side Portland that goes from Wilsonville to north of Vancouver. I405 cuts through downtown only.

To me, I-90 in Minnesota comes to mind. Which is crazy considering it's such an important corridor from Madison to...basically Boston.

With the plans to extend I-57 to Little Rock, AR, this Interstate may become more utilized as it provides a fully freeway route from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and points south into the Midwest. Oklahoma has refused for decades to upgrade US 69 to Interstate standards and will not even bypass Muskogee. The Sooner State NIMBYs and corrupt local officials running speed traps will be bypassed thanks to the state DOTs in Arkansas and Missouri.

Haha. Well you're there, observing all these people. Where are YOU going? Might be the same place they're going.

If the Turnpike weren't there, I-4 or I-95 would probably be even worser than it already is

In my opinion, 24 is actually worse. Most of the problems on I-75 are within a few miles of the split with 24. On the other hand, I-24 backs up pretty much the entire length between I-59 and I-75, especially at both interchanges and the ridge cut.

@@jakkew5753 Yes I meant to include that too. The whole Chattanooga area is awful!

The interchange is what causes problems to I-75 because they made the lane end on the ramp to Nashville (I-75 to I-24 West) end very quickly and they drop the speed limit to 50 for I-75. I-24 is the main problem because it is very outdated, despite the new interchange, which still didn't fix the main problem

295 Is actually a pretty good beltway as far as traffic, considering I-285 (Atlanta) & I-495 (DC) exist.

I 285 in Atlanta says "hold my beer"