Oops. Ouch. Zanga. Here’s a list no chamber of commerce or convention and visitor’s bureau would highlight any time soon concerning Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
OKC and Tulsa rank 53rd and 64th, respectively, on a new list of the worst commutes in America. That’s surprising considering that locals tout the lack of traffic, and I agree with that assessment.
Still, The Daily Beast, a news and information website, used data from the Travel Time Index and traffic-tracking firm INRIX to rank the “Highways to Hell.”
Besides the inclusion of OKC and Tulsa, the list has a few more surprises. Austin, for example, is ranked a surprising fourth on the list, but if you’ve ever tried getting through that city on I-35 unscathed, you’ll know exactly why it’s there. And there are a number of smaller cities (Boise City?!) that you wouldn’t think should be ranked, but do.
Here’s the complete list:
#1, Hollywood Freeway, Los Angeles
#2, Lunalilo Freeway (H-1), Honolulu
#3, Capital Beltway, surrounds Washington DC
#4, I-35, Austin
#5, James Lick Freeway (US 101), San Francisco
#6, Cross Bronx Expressway, New York City
#7, I-5, Seattle
#8, I-95, Bridgeport, CT
#9, Kennedy Expressway, Chicago
#10, Airport Expressway (State Road 112), Miami
#11, Bayshore Freeway (US 101), San Jose
#12, Loop 610, surrounds Houston
#13, I-10, Baton Rouge
#14, Southeast Expressway, Boston
#15, Loop 820, surrounds Dallas-Fort Worth
#16, I-5, Portland, OR
#17, I-494, Minneapolis-St. Paul
#18, I-264, Virginia Beach
#19, San Diego Freeway (I-5), San Diego
#20, Schuylkill Expressway, Philadelphia
#21, Baltimore Beltway, surrounds Baltimore
#22, I-75, Atlanta
#23, I-275, Tampa
#24, I-25, Denver
#25, Riverside Freeway, Riverside, CA
#26, Ronald Reagan Freeway, Oxnard, CA
#27, I-10, New Orleans
#28, I-91, New Haven
#29, Papago Freeway (I-10), Phoenix
#30, Penn Lincoln Parkway (I-376), Pittsburgh
#31, Capital City Freeway, Sacramento
#32, I-15, Las Vegas
#33, I-84, Hartford, CT
#34, I-94, Milwaukee
#35, East Independence Blvd, Charlotte, NC
#36, I-75, Cincinnati
#37, I-65, Birmingham, AL
#38, Loop 410, surrounds San Antonio
#39, Edsel Ford Freeway (I-94), Detroit
#40, I-10, El Paso
#41, I-195, Providence
#42, I-90, Cleveland
#43, I-26, Charleston, SC
#44, I-40, Nashville
#45, I-270, St. Louis
#46, I 4, Orlando
#47, I-24, Chattanooga
#48, I-95, Jacksonville
#49, I-65, Louisville
#50, I-40, Raleigh, NC
#51, I-84, Boise City
#52, North Freeway, Columbus OH
#53, I-235, Oklahoma City
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 34
Worst bottleneck: Southbound, Harrison Ave/6th St/Exit 1
Length of worst bottleneck: .4 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 8
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 16.1 mph
Commuter Buzz: “It’s pretty wet,” driver Mike Raglin told KOCO 5, describing the roads after early-morning storms. “We had a couple of folks running into each other and stuff.”
#54, Highway 201, Salt Lake City
#55, I-240, Memphis
#56, I-65, Indianapolis
#57, US 22, Allentown, PA
#58, I-70, Kansas City
#59, I-30 Little Rock, AR
#60, I-10, Tucson
#61, Coronado Freeway, Albuquerque
#62, I-83, Harrisburg, PA
#63, I-290, Worcester, MA
#64, Crosstown Expressway, Tulsa
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 6
Worst bottleneck: Eastbound, I 44/Highway 66
Length of worst bottleneck: .98 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 6
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 16.1 mph
Commuter Buzz: Tulsa World reader Daven suggested politicians see roads firsthand to encourage increased spending on improvements. “Just drive him on the part of the [Inner Dispersal Loop] that has not been repaired and he will see real quick why that was need. Given that he doesn’t fall into a pothole.”
#65, I-75, Cape Coral, FL
#66, I-490, Rochester, NY
#67, I-271, Akron, OH
#68, I-205, Stockton, CA
#69, I-75, Dayton, OH
#70, I-40, Knoxville, TN
#71, I-690, Syracuse, NY
#72, I-15, Ogden, UT
#73, I-26, Columbia, SC
#74, I-55, Jackson, MS
#75, I-95, Richmond, VA