Tampa Has One Of Nation’s Worst Truck Bottlenecks
If you drive around the Tampa Bay area, you’d know what roads are going to back up on a daily basis. One has made the list of the top backups in the U.S., and it’s the only one representing Florida.
Even if you’re new to the area, the words ‘Malfunction Junction’ might sound like someplace to avoid. Based on annual data, the American Transportation Research Institute put together a list of the 100 worst truck bottlenecks for 2022. It not only represents Tampa, but this year, it’s the only one in Florida that made the list.
Where Interstate 4 ends near downtown Tampa, merging into Interstate 275 has long been known as ‘Malfunction Junction’. Even with several construction projects to make things better, it’s still a source of headaches for drivers trying to get through Tampa.
The I-4/I-275 interchange ranked #69 in the nation for worst truck bottlenecks. That’s a “slight” improvement over 2021, where it was ranked #64. Also, in last year’s ranking, there were two Florida cities in the top 100. Jacksonville landed at #95 with a bottleneck at I-10 at I-95. You can click here to see a chart of the how the speed changes during rush hour. Spoiler alert, slow in morning traffic, slower on the drive home in the afternoon.
The worst in the nation was in Fort Lee, NJ, where I-95 meets State Road 4. That probably doesn’t surprise anyone. The worst bottleneck in California landed at #7, but they had eight on the list. Georgia had nine on the list, with two in the top five. Texas had 14 bottlenecks in the top 100.
[Source: Creative Loafing]
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