Study: Seattle-Tacoma region has 5 of nation's top 21 traffic bottlenecks

Interstate 5 in Western Washington has six of the 100 worst traffic bottlenecks in the nation, according to a new study by the American Transportation Research Institute. The congestion points range from the I-5/I405 intersection in Lynnwood south to the I-5 crossing of the Columbia River in Vancouver. . less Interstate 5 in Western Washington has six of the 100 worst traffic bottlenecks in the nation, according to a new study by the American Transportation Research Institute. The congestion points range from the ... more Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Study: Seattle-Tacoma region has 5 of nation's top 21 traffic bottlenecks 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

The Seattle-Tacoma region is on the mark as a national epicenter of traffic congestion, with five of the nation's top-100 truck bottlenecks, according to the 2017 American Transportation Research Institute list of 100 top places for tieups in the U.S. highway system.

Western Washington has total of nine places on the list. The list of Seattle-Tacoma bottlenecks outpaces Los Angeles.

The worst bottleneck in America, according to the ATRI study, is the intersection of I-285 and I-85 in northwest Atlanta. The secodf worst is Fort Lee, New Jersey -- made famous by Gov. Chris Christie's "Bridgegate" scandal --where I-95 and State Route 4 come together.

The Seattle area gets on the congestion map at No. 7, the intersection of State Route 18 and SR 167, the Valley Freeway, in Auburn.

The second listing, at No. 10, is the intersection of Interstate 5 with the east-west lanes of I-90 just south of downtown Seattle.

Mixed with Atlanta and Houston and Los Angeles headaches are three more top-21 congestion points. Tacoma comes in at No. 16: Three major highways -- I-5, the I-705 spur into the city, and SR 16 headed for the Kitsap Peninsula -- come together in the City of Destiny.

Coming up from behind, in the realm of going slowly, is No. 18 in Federal Way, the takeoff of SR 18 from Interstate 5. The signature of congestion here is a long line of cars in the right southbound lane of I-5 waiting to get onto SR 18.

The Eastside makes its appearance on the worst-congestion list at No. 21, the junction of I90 and I-405.

Western Washington appears again at No. 36, Interstate 5 as it crosses the Columbia River into Oregon. (Ex-State Sen. Don Benton, who helped block new bridge plans, is headed for a top staff job in the Trump administration.)

The intersection of I-5 and I-405 in Lynwood comes in at No. 74, followed at No. 75 by the junction of SR 512 and I-5 just south of Tacoma, also known for its lineup of cars in the southbound lane of I-5.

A perpetual bottleneck north of Seattle, the takeoff of US 2 from I-5 in Everett, makes it onto the list at No. 95.

How do we rank? Way up there. Greater Atlanta has six choke points on the top-10 list. Sprawling, unzoned Houston has the most sites on the list, 10 independent intersections or 10 percent of America's worst bottlenecks.

Long lampooned by Northwest residents for its gridlock, Los Angeles has only three congestion chokepoints on its list, Nos. 6, 17 and 53. The intersection of the Pomona and Orange Freeways, least of LA, ranks at No. 6, just ahead of SR 18-SR 167 in our Kent Valley..

The American Transportation Research Institute assesses 250 truck-oriented congestion locations across America each year. The analysis is baed on truck GPS data from more than 600,000 heavy trucks. ATRI is the trucking industry's not-for-profit research organization that assesses the movement of freight transportation.

Washington is America's most trade dependent state, with a lot of that trade dependent on getting agricultural products across the Cascades from Eastern Washington, and to the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma for export.