Area bottlenecks rank D.C. 4th on list of worst traffic

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The northbound stretch of Interstate-395 just before the 14th Street Bridge has won the title of the region’s worst bottleneck, according to a national traffic study.

The study, which is scheduled to be released today by traffic information provider Inrix, ranked the region’s 25 worst bottlenecks according to hours of congestion and found the Washington area has the fourth-worst overall congestion in the nation.

Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago took the top three spots, respectively.

Washington’s worst bottleneck sees 43 hours of congestion a week and an average speed of only 10.5 mph during those times, the study said.

Commuters who travel eastbound on the Capital Beltway past U.S. 1 in Alexandria face the second-worst bottleneck in the region, according to Inrix.

That 1.5-mile stretch of highway sees 34 hours of congestion a week and an average speed of 13 mph when congested.

Three more areas of northbound I-395, all in Arlington, made the list, as did 10 more sections of the Beltway spanning Fairfax, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.

Virginia commuters appear to have it worst — 14 of the region’s top 25 bottlenecks plague the commonwealth.

Maryland suffers nine of the top 25, and the District has only two on the list, both on northbound Kenilworth Avenue.

But local drivers can find one reason to take heart — even the region’s worst bottleneck ranks 87th when compared with bottlenecks across the nation.

Inrix compiled traffic statistics from more than 30,000 road segments on nearly 50,000 miles of major roadways.

Traffic increased about 2 percent in 2007 over 2006, and appears to be continuing to swell in 2008, “although higher fuel prices and the economy are affecting the rate of growth,” the study said.

tluntz@dcexaminer.com