Skip to main content

Freight bottleneck analysis of 250 significant US highway locations

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released the findings of their annual report on congestion at freight significant highway locations.
April 30, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The 5339 American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) and the 2410 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released the findings of their annual report on congestion at freight significant highway locations. The research assesses the level of truck-oriented congestion at 250 locations on the national highway system to produce a congestion severity ranking for each location. This ongoing research, which is part of the Freight Performance Measures (FPM) initiative, is sponsored by FHWA's Office of Freight Management and Operations and operated by ATRI.

The FPM congestion monitoring effort combines anonymous truck GPS location information with sophisticated software applications and analysis techniques to assess the levels at which truck-based freight was affected by traffic congestion in 2010.  The result is a clear documentation of system chokepoints, especially during peak travel times in urban locations.

"The impact of traffic congestion on truck travel is well known, but rarely in a fashion where we can pinpoint projects for resource allocation and reconstruction," said Keith Bucklew, manager of Multimodal Planning for the Indiana DOT.  "The FPM programme continues to provide real value to public sector transportation managers."

Kevin Knight, chairman and CEO of Knight Transportation, commented, "Strengthening the efficiency of supply chains is becoming a critical component of U.S. economic growth.  Challenge number one is identifying the freight bottlenecks.  Fortunately, ATRI's report goes far in using real-world data to tell us where the impediments lie."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Increased infrastructure spending
    February 22, 2012
    With economies booming in the BRIC countries and other regions, spending on infrastructure is at a high - Patrick Smith reports As economic crisis grips much of the world, many countries are still spending billions on infrastructure to improve transportation. While the USA and Europe struggle with debt problems (and this has affected much of the rest of the world) the development of highways, airport, ports and other infrastructure is gathering pace in other regions to boost economic developments.
  • Showcasing global road innovation at key event
    August 27, 2019
    IRF Global R2T Conference & Exhibition to Present Winning Strategies Now in its second edition, the IRF Global R2T Conference & Exhibition has quickly established itself as the international meeting point. Leading industry innovators, researchers, and stakeholders can acquire essential engineering and business insights, and help build tomorrow’s transportation infrastructure today. A newly-released programme featuring more than 150 speakers spread across 50 policy and technical sessions offers an exc
  • Software tools aid construction, reduce costs
    February 28, 2012
    Integrated construction software offers an effective planning solution - *Mark Nichols writes. In a world where resources are limited, 20 year designing and building in a sustainable way is more critical than ever. By employing today's software tools it is possible to reduce the total cost of construction of a new highway, while reducing operating costs and environmental impacts. The path to achieving the greatest gains is to take a holistic approach to the plan, design, construct and operate process from t
  • Moscow city government to build relief roads and highways
    June 6, 2016
    Moscow’s congestion problems need addressing but there are different solutions that could provide the answer – Eugene Gerden writes Moscow’s city government is considering building relief roads to ease congestion on the city’s key roads and highways. This plan has been revealed by recent statements from Marat Khusnullin, deputy mayor for urban policy and construction of the Moscow city government.