Pandemic-related lockdowns and remote work schedules thinned crowds on Connecticut’s highways in 2020, but the state is still home to seven of the most congested corridors in the country, according to a new report from the American Transportation Research Institute.
Using data collected from over 1 million truck-mounted GPS systems, ATRI analysts found that traffic generally moved faster through Connecticut’s most notorious bottlenecks last year than in 2019. But similar improvements in other regions, especially major metropolitan areas, meant Connecticut remains among the most gridlocked states in the U.S.
Coming in at No. 30 nationally, the I-84/I-91 interchange in Hartford ranked as the worst bottleneck in Connecticut, with reported average speeds of 47 miles per hour during peak traffic times. A plan was recently unveiled, called Hartford 400, to knock that interchange and remake Hartford’s highway system.
Following not far behind were I-95 in Stamford (No. 34), I-95 in Norwalk (No. 40), and I-84 at Route 8 in Waterbury, also known as the “Mixmaster” (No. 41).
Also making the list were I-91 at Route 5 in Hartford (No. 70), the I-95/I-91 interchange in New Haven (No. 87), and the merger of I-95, Route 8 and Route 25 in Bridgeport (No. 90).
For the third straight year, the American Transportation Research Institute ranked the intersection of I-95 and Route 4 in New Jersey as the single worst bottleneck in the country. The massive interchange funnels cars on and off the George Washington Bridge, which links New Jersey and Manhattan.
Rounding out the top 10 were slow-going stretches in Cincinnati, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, Chattanooga, Tennessee and Rye, New York.
