I-75 in McDonough changed one spot in the freight bottlenecks ranking for 2023. The local gridlock ranked 13th-worst this year compared to 12th one year ago. The American Transportation Research Institute releases the annual list.
The I-75 at I-675 junction in Stockbridge also remains on the list. Altogether, Georgia retains nine locations in the top 100.
Freight Bottlenecks 2023
The American Transportation Research Institute compiles tractor-trailer GPS data to build their annual ranking. The group looks at over three-hundred freight-intensive locations when determining the top 100. They first published the list in 2002.
MHF News first began publishing articles about the rankings in 2020. At the time, I-75 in McDonough ranked 62nd. Since then, the spot rose to 31st in 2021 and 12th-worst in 2022. This year sees the first improvement, but only by one spot.
Despite I-75 in McDonough improving one spot, ATRI found travel speeds continued to decrease from 2021 to 2022. According to the research group, the local interstate experienced a 2.7% decline in average speed.
| Average Speed | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Speed | 51.6 | 52.0 | 48.0 | 47.0 |
| Peak Average Speed | 49.3 | 49.3 | 44.0 | 42.8 |
| Non-peak Average Speed | 52.4 | 53.1 | 49.5 | 48.7 |
Peak hour travel speeds continue to decrease. The average peak hour travel speed has decreased 6.5 miles per hour from 2020 to now. Non-peak hour speeds are also suffering. They have experienced a four mile per hour drop in two years. ATRI found the worst delays occur between 3–6 pm. Average speeds drop below 35 mph during this time.
I-75 at I-675
The I-75 at I-675 junction also made the 2023 list. One year ago, the location ranked 52nd. Now, the spot comes in at #57. Average peak hour speeds improved 2.4% year-to-year.
Georgia Freight Bottlenecks
Georgia has nine locations among the top 100 freight bottlenecks. This is second-most in the country behind Texas. Georgia locations include the following:
- #4: I-285 at I-85 (Spaghetti Junction) [4th last year]
- #5: I-20 at I-285 (West) [5th one year ago]
- #13: I-75 at McDonough [12th]
- #14: I-285 at GA 400 [18th]
- #17: I-20 at I-285 (East) [21st]
- #18: I-75 at I-285 (Cobb Cloverleaf) [14th]
- #35: I-20 at I-75/85 (Downtown) [45th]
- #57: I-75 at I-675 [52nd]
- #60: I-75 at I-85 (Midtown) [62nd]
Spaghetti Junction and I-20 at I-285, both in Dekalb County, retain their fourth and fifth-worst rankings in the country. Most other locations, such as I-285 at Georgia 400, moved up the list a few positions. Notably, downtown Atlanta’s I-20 at I-75/85 junction moved ten spots. No Georgia locations fell out of the top 100 from a year ago.
Featured image shows I-75 south of Jonesboro Road. Doug Turnbull / WSB photo.
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