Motorists spend over 100 hours annually caught in traffic congestion in this prominent city.
When embarking on a road trip across the United States, certain cities are best avoided if you’re traveling by car, such as New York City and Los Angeles.
In the past year, it is estimated that drivers lost around 4.7 billion hours stuck in traffic across the US.
The Tom Tom Traffic Index reports that a 10-kilometer journey through New York City could take up to 31 minutes, while the same distance takes just over 26 minutes in San Francisco.
Recent analysis from the Global Traffic Scorecard, utilizing INRIX data, now ranks Chicago as having the worst traffic in the United States, surpassing New York City, which previously held the top position.
This study indicates that drivers in Chicago lose an astonishing 112 hours each year due to traffic congestion, marking a 10 percent increase from the previous year. This figure is more than twice the national average of 49 hours lost in traffic.
Despite this, Chicago isn’t the absolute worst, as it ranks third globally for severe traffic, trailing behind Mexico City and Istanbul, which leads the ranking.
Among other US cities facing significant traffic issues are New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Washington, and Seattle.
Notably, Baltimore and Philadelphia have seen the most substantial increases in congestion within the top 25 cities, with delays rising by 31 percent in each, resulting in more than $85 billion in lost productivity for drivers.
The most congested routes were identified as both directions of I-95 near Stamford in Connecticut, followed by I-278 in New York City and I-4 near Orlando, Florida.
Tom Tom further notes that traveling 10 kilometers in Chicago takes approximately 19.51 minutes, slightly faster than in Honolulu, Hawaii, where it takes 20.39 minutes.
This information emerges amid growing concerns about traffic congestion around Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, noted for experiencing one of the most significant traffic surges of any US airport.
The situation has deteriorated to the point where renovation planners are reportedly contemplating adjustments to the project’s timeline, with completion currently projected for 2033.
Globally, cities such as Barranquilla in Colombia, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune in India, and London in the UK are consistently ranked among the worst for driving, according to the Tom Tom Traffic Index.
Additional cities making the top 10 for challenging travel times per 10 kilometers include Kyoto in Japan, Lima in Peru, Davao City in the Philippines, Trujillo in Peru, and Dublin in Ireland.