Top Ten Worst Cities for Traffic

Nobody enjoys sitting in traffic. Every year countless hours are spent by Americans sitting in traffic jams. Based on a study by the Texas Transportation Institute, traffic  costs $100 billion per year in terms of lost productivity. This equates to approximately $750 per commuter. In the last 30 years the average commute time has more than doubled. If this isn’t evidence for the need of more and improved infrastructure, then what else could be?

10

Chicago, Illinois

Chi-town traffic can certainly be a pain. With the huge number of aging highways, and interweaving toll-roads, the confusion and rapid lane changes leads to substantial delays. On top of that, add in Midwest severe weather and it can take hours to get to where you are going.

9

San Diego, California

Despite the great year-round weather in San Diego, it does not have great traffic. Being the 17th most populated metropolitan area, they rank 9th in terms of traffic delays. Be sure to account for some extra travel time when heading to the beach if you are in San Diego.

8

Atlanta, Georgia

When driving around Atlanta, traffic is unavoidable. Although serviced by several major highways, I-85, I-285, I-75, and I-20, it seems inevitable that they will all be backed-up at some point during the day.

7

Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas is home to many of our countries top corporations. It is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters than any other cities except for New York City. With that being said, most people live outside the city and commute in. This leads to mass traffic during rush hour and can certainly lead to delays and gridlock.

6

Washington, D.C.

Home to our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. has some of the most extreme traffic for a city of its size. It is no wonder that it seems like congress takes so long to act, when it takes them so long to get to work.

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5

San Francisco, California

Much of the bottleneck in San Francisco is due to the Oakland bridge. Every day many drivers commute from Oakland to San Francisco, or vice-versa and as a result spend a lot of time waiting in traffic to get across the bay. Oakland has seen rapid growth in recent years and San Francisco is a key cultural and transportation hub in northern California. This combination has resulted in increasing traffic in recent years.

4

Tampa, Florida

If you have ever visited Florida and have tried to make the trek from Orlando to Tampa, then you know Florida isn’t all just sunny and happy. Locals complain about the tourist traffic and the notorious back-ups along I-4 running through the middle of the state.

3

Seattle, Washington

Getting home on Friday afternoons in Seattle can feel like an eternity. Rush hour tends to start early in Seattle and last quite a bit longer than in most cities. The highways in and around Seattle are congested for roughly 33 hours per week.

2

Miami, Florida

Compared to last year’s statistics, the traffic in Miami has increased dramatically. With travel prices low in the south, it has drawn more tourists than average and as a result has backed-up the roads. Many travelers recommend avoiding driving if at all possible when visiting beautiful Miami.

1

Los Angeles, California

Many people have equated traffic in Los Angeles to the earthly incarnation of purgatory hell. The average commuter in LA loses 92 hours of their lives per year sitting in traffic delays. The roads are congested nearly 24 hours per day with an average of a 40-minute delay per hour at peak times.

 

Source: News 10