The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the research arm of IRU member the American Trucking Associations, has released its 15th annual list on the most congested bottlenecks for trucks in the US.
ATRI’s 2026 Top Truck Bottleneck List measures the level of truck-involved congestion at more than 325 locations on the national highway system.
For the first time ever, the intersection of I-294 and I-290/I-88 in Chicago is the top freight bottleneck in the country, surpassing the long-standing number one bottleneck in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
The remaining top 10 bottlenecks are:
2. Fort Lee, NJ: I-95 at SR 4
3. Atlanta: I-285 at I-85 (North)
4. Houston: I-45 at I-69/US 59 5. Atlanta: I-75 at I-285 (North)
6. Atlanta: I-20 at I-285 (West) 7. Nashville: I-24/I-40 at I-440 (East)
8. Houston: I-10 at I-69/US 59
9. Cincinnati: I-71 at I-75
10. McDonough, GA: I-75
ATRI’s bottleneck analysis incorporates and synthesises several unique components, including a massive database of truck GPS data at freight-significant locations throughout the US, and a speed/volume algorithm that quantifies the impact of congestion on truck-based freight.
The annual reports also provide a chronological repository of mobility profiles, allowing congestion changes to be assessed over time. This enables both transport analysts and planners to conduct performance benchmarking and identify influential factors contributing to congestion and the requisite consequences on freight mobility.
The full report, including detailed information on each of the 100 top congested locations, is available here.