Listen -- we get it. You're tired of hearing about how bad Atlanta traffic is. You know. You live it. Every day. For hours. And hours. And hours.
But guess what? We've got some fancy new data, courtesy of the Atlanta Regional Commission, and it shows the top 10 places around town where traffic was routinely bad last month. Naturally, we want to share it.
To compile this data, the ARC charted the average duration, average length and frequency of bottlenecks -- defined in a pretty graphic below -- at key metro Atlanta locations (note that "duration" refers to how long a bottleneck was classified a bottleneck -- not how long it took drivers to pass through). It then multiplied all those numbers together to come up with an "impact factor."
Without further ado, here's the countdown. Read 'em and weep.
--
10. I-85/75 North at I-20/Exit 247, Atlanta: Passing Turner Field and headed into the city (or trying to go east or west)? Good luck.
Average duration: 3 hours, 14 minues
Average length: 2.6 miles
Occurrences: 95
9. Ga. 400 North at I-285, North Fulton: This is pretty much always a bad idea. But you already knew that.
Average duration: 2 hours, 19 minutes
Average length: 6.6 miles
Occurrences: 54
8. I-285 East at I-85/Exit 33, DeKalb County: Leaving DeKalb and trying to get somewhere via Spaghetti Junction, you say? Ha!
Average duration: 2 hours, 46 minutes
Average length: 5.6 miles
Occurrences: 63
»MORE: Photos of Spaghetti Junction through the years
7. I-85 South at I-75/I-85/Exit 85, Atlanta: Approaching the Downtown Connector from the north? You really should know better.
Average duration: 2 hours, 51 minutes
Average length: 3.6 miles
Occurrences: 102
6. I-285 South at I-20/Exit 10, Fulton County: The Westside Perimeter is a big bucket of nope.
Average duration: 2 hours, 19 minutes
Average length: 6.3 miles
Occurrences: 74
5. I-85 North at Ga. 378/Exit 102, Gwinnett County: Norcross' Beaver Ruin Road has a funny name. The traffic's not so funny.
Average duration: 2 hours, 50 minutes
Average length: 10.1 miles
Occurrences: 40
»MORE: Where did Beaver Ruin Road get its name?
4. I-85/I-75 South at I-20/Exit 247, Atlanta: The Downtown Connector and I-20. Again.
Average duration: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Average length: 3.2 miles
Occurrences: 100
3. I-285 West at I-75/Exit 20, Cobb County: Hey, good thing they're not building anything nearby that will create even more congestion!
Average duration: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Average length: 5.8 miles
Occurrences: 100
2. I-85/I-75 North at I-85/I-75 split, Atlanta: Don't come into to the city this way. And definitely don't leave it.
Average duration: 4 hours, 5 minutes
Average length: 3.7 miles
Occurrences: 132
1. I-75 North at Chastain Road/Exit 271, Cobb County: Kind of surprising it's No. 1 ... right? Hello? Anyone? Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of your rising blood pressure.
Average duration: 2 hours, 36 minutes
Average length: 8.5 miles
Occurrences: 113
»MORE: Visit the AJC's commuting blog for more metro Atlanta traffic news.
About the Author