(WUSA) -- The Washington metropolitan area ranks fourth in the nation when it comes to the worst traffic congestion, according to a new report released Tuesday.
The study from INRIX uses GPS data from cars around the nation. It found the Washington area ranks behind only Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago for the worst traffic congestion. According to last year's study, our region ranked eighth. A study released earlier this year by the Texas Transportation Institute found Washington tied with Chicago for the most amount of time drivers spend stuck in traffic.
According to the INRIX report, the stretch of Interstate 95 in Northern Virginia from the Springfield Interchange south to an area just past the Marine Corps Base at Quantico is the worst congestion spot in our region. With no one else on the road, that drive should take 23 minutes. However, during the evening commute, INRIX found the drive takes 86 minutes.
The morning commute on the Outer Loop of the Beltway in Montgomery County, heading from I-95 towards I-270, ranked as the second worst trouble spot in the region. The same area of the Inner Loop, going the other direction for the evening commute, ranked as third-worst.
Westbound Interstate 66 in Arlington County, eastbound I-66 in Fairfax County, and I-395 in Arlington ranked as the three worst bottleneck spots in the region. The Beltway at I-270 and at Wisconsin Avenue/Maryland Route 355 also made the top 5 bottleneck areas.
Nationwide, the Cross Bronx Expressway in New York City ranked as the most congested road. Three New York area roads were in the top 10 nationwide, along with five Los Angeles area roads, the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago, and the Penn Lincoln Parkway in Pittsburgh. Southbound I-95 in Virginia and the Beltway in Montgomery County made it into the national top 25.
Written by Dan Guzman
9NEWS NOW & wusa9.com