Chicago, once again, ranks among the worst in the nation for traffic congestion in annual report

Chicago drivers know: Traffic congestion around the area is frustrating.

Roads are so snarled that the city once again ranked among the worst in the nation for the severity of traffic in 2024. Drivers lost an average of 102 hours to traffic last year, putting the Chicago metro area on par with New York City — and for Chicago, 2024 traffic was even worse than the 96 hours the average driver lost to traffic the year before, according to a new report from mobility analytics firm Inrix.

Trips into downtown Chicago picked up last year by 13%, Inrix found, which could signal good economic news for the city center. Tourism and new residential construction just outside the Loop could partly explain the trend, along with the continued return of workers to downtown offices, said Joseph Schwieterman, director of DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.

But the increased traffic comes as the region’s transit agencies have struggled to draw riders back to buses and trains and face an upcoming massive budget gap. Discussions about the future of transit are expected to heat up this year and, as traffic ticks up, the outcome of those discussions could have repercussions for residents’ quality of life or, potentially, detract from the appeal of downtown, Schwieterman said.

“Motorists have a big stake in the transit discussions, whether they realize it or not,” he said.

Already, Chicago’s 102 average hours stuck in traffic last year was well above the nationwide average of 43 hours lost to traffic, Inrix found.

After Chicago and New York, other large cities with significant congestion included Los Angeles, where drivers lost an average of 88 hours to congestion, and Boston, where drivers spent 79 hours stuck in traffic.

The findings are part of an annual Inrix report on traffic in major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and around the world, based on anonymized data from sources like GPS apps in vehicles and trucking fleets. The firm measured hours lost to congestion by comparing travel time during peak commute periods to times when there is little traffic, like overnight.

The hours drivers lost to traffic cost Chicago $6.6 billion in wasted time, according to Inrix’s analysis of federal values of travel time.

Among the busiest roads in the area — and the country — were Interstate 55 southbound between I-90 and Cicero Avenue in the afternoon, and I-90 eastbound between Cicero and Fullerton avenues in the morning.

Also ranking among the nation’s top 10 most congested stretches were a portion of I-290 eastbound through the near west suburbs and I-90 westbound leaving downtown.

It is perhaps no surprise to commuters to see I-90, or the Kennedy Expressway, on the list of most congested roads, as measured by both traffic delay and volume of traffic. The highway that runs from downtown through the city’s Northwest Side is in the middle of a three-year construction project that has left lanes closed during construction season. Most recently the express lanes running down the center of the highway were closed, and their reopening was delayed until mid-January.

Increased traffic brings consequences that need to be managed, like injuries and fatalities, which remain a concern. Congestion also affects the economy and can have repercussions like delaying deliveries, said Inrix transportation analyst and study author Bob Pishue.

But it also signals a return to the office, in-person events and daily life, he said. Cities focused on industries like tech and financial services, like San Jose, Seattle and San Francisco, in particular have seen downtown traffic start to return, he said. And, nationwide, Saturday and Sunday evenings saw big jumps in trips.

“I think that we should read into this as, OK, we’re starting to get back into the office, into our normal swing of things,” he said.

The increase in downtown trips could portend demand for more transit, especially in a city like Chicago, where train lines converge downtown, Pishue said.

But the looming financial crisis has lawmakers and observers weighing what transit should look like in the future. Changes are on the table to the makeup of the region’s three transit agencies and their financial oversight body, the Regional Transportation Authority. State lawmakers also will be tasked with deciding whether to devote new money to transit, how and how much. The agencies face a combined budget gap that could reach $771 million once federal pandemic aid dries up, which is expected in early 2026, though a proposal in play seeks $1.5 billion in new funding to boost the system.

Failure to close the budget gap could lead to drastic service cuts, the transit agencies have warned. Such cuts would mean more road congestion and bad news for Chicago, Schwieterman said.

Other efforts could help with traffic, like implementing high-occupancy vehicle lanes on expressways, he said. And bus rapid transit, a series of measures designed to move buses more quickly along city streets, needs a jump start, he said.

“We’re going to lose our strategic edge if congestion worsens due to draconian schedule cuts,” he said.

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