New York City Traffic: New York's Top-5 Most Congested Roads

New York, New York, the City of Dreams.New York City, U.S. Census 2006 estimated population 8,214,426, is America's largest metropolis, by far. Obviously, traffic congestion arrives part and parcel with such crushing amounts of individuals funneling themselves into a Central City that includes Long Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut as suburban locales. Still, New Yorkers do enjoy a measure of relief relative to these sky high population statistics due to America's most advanced public transportation network and jam packed population density, which promulgates walkability and limits driving distances. Indeed, Los Angeles is always cited as the most congested U.S. city, irrespective of the fact that L.A. carries less than half the inhabitants of New York's 5 boroughs.

Certainly, New Yorkers will blister at these comparisons while languishing within stop and go traffic at the Belt.

The New York City street, road, bridge, tunnel, and expressway network is an odd, yet effective smorgasbord of Native American trails, colonial grids ideally suited for wagons, and visions of automobile grandeur per the Robert Moses Power Broker.

I must intimate that the tact of omission was actually the most difficult aspect of compiling this list. The ramshackle I-678 / Van Wyck and I-87 / Major Deegan were actually left off this collection of ill-repute per their access to viable secondary routes, which parallel both mainlines throughout Queens and The Bronx, respectively.

The classic bottleneck represents the fusion of high volume, dangerous driving conditions, and "one-way out" highway infrastructure, which forces motorists to navigate said artery.

Our following top-5 rankings combine Inrix traffic counts and highway aesthetics with New York City geography to expose the most congested roads.

The Tri-State environment is a boon for maritime port activity, yet a total disaster for motor vehicle traffic. The Bronx is the lone borough that rests upon the U.S. mainland, while Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island drift towards the Atlantic Ocean per the Kills, Narrows, Hudson, and East rivers.

Transporting millions of tourists, local inhabitants, commercial traffic, and Interstate drivers about the natural barriers of the New York metropolitan area is a surreal undertaking. Frankly, out-of-towners are in for a real "treat," considering the fact that New York City roadway signage is nearly non-existent, space is always at a premium, and brash New Yorkers appear to be hell bent upon muscling all defensive drivers off the road.

New York, New York, the City of Traffic Nightmares.

#5 - New York City Traffic Most Congested Roads: NYC Bridges and Tunnels

New York City bridges all represent bottlenecks per New York - New Jersey and inter borough traffic. New York's waterway connections often mark the tolled confluence of surface level streets, principal routes, tidy parkways, and garish expressways. The mixing bowl and one-way out end points are beacons for congestion into and out of the 5 boroughs.

Of course, sweeping statements concerning the numerous Kills, Narrows, Harlem, East, and Hudson River crossings will never translate into adequate justice for these engineering marvels.

The Lincoln Tunnel, Verrazano, Triborough, George Washington, and Queensboro bridges are the primary offenders of the wretched NY-NJ B&T bottlenecks. With the exception of the Queensboro Bridge, these critical connections all feature expressway traffic, tollbooth collectors, and / or access to Manhattan.

Although the Verrazano does not link 278 directly to downtown Manhattan, Staten Island drivers will make the connection into the City per the Battery Tunnel from the Brooklyn - Queen Expressway (BQE).

Traffic routinely stalls for miles during rush hour and every New York City bridge approach is a total madhouse amidst holiday weekends between the New Jersey Turnpike and the BQE.

The double-decker Queensboro Bridge is remarkable per its hideous ugliness, which is contrary to the trademark New York City suspension profile. QB is the amalgamation of twisted metal, delivery trucks, and maniacal drivers entering Midtown Manhattan from Long Island City.

New York City bridges and tunnels do arrive with complimentary saving graces. First, the relative ease of travel across the Harlem River between Uptown Manhattan and the South Bronx disavows a higher ranking. Secondly, New Yorkers and tourists may at least marvel at the bridge construction and unobstructed NYC views.

That is, until the gawking motorist is awakened from said reverie by the menacing serenade of honking horns faster than a New York minute.

#4 - New York City Traffic Most Congested Road: Harlem River - FDR Drive

The "fun" begins at the I-95 GW Bridge complex junction onto Harlem River Drive.

Of course, sharp ramps and abrupt signage is the order of the day for all New York City interchanges. Interstate 95 funnels Connecticut, New Jersey, Westchester County, and Bronx motorists per the GW Bridge and Cross Bronx Expressway onto Manhattan Island, with Harlem River Drive serving as the primary conduit to Midtown and Downtown.

This interchange is a complete disaster.

Harlem River into the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Drive traces the Eastern edge of Manhattan at a minuscule six lanes across, with access to all neighborhoods, Harlem, and East River bridges. Merging traffic never enjoys the benefit of acceleration lanes on The Drive and aggressive motorists are forced to barrel their way onto this dangerous roadway from all angles.

Irrespective of these issues, this artery is privy to construction at all times of the day to repair crumbling pavement and the weather beaten overpasses of yesteryear.

The FDR is mired in one crushing bottleneck from its origins at Battery Park throughout its entire length to the I-95 / Cross Bronx during peak periods.

Still, motorists may cruise the synchronized lights of the Manhattan Avenues as an alternative, or simply enjoy the New York City views from the FDR to pass the time.

#3 - New York City Traffic Most Congested Road: I-495 / Long Island Expressway

The Long Island Expressway earned the designation as "the world's largest parking lot" during the 1960's. Of course, the LIE remains the most important link between Midtown Manhattan and Long Island. The 70-mile roadway terminates at Riverhead, NY and carries the Interstate 495 shield.

I-495 never actually meets parent I-95 at the New Jersey Turnpike, as plans for the Mid-Manhattan expressway were officially cancelled in 1971. Today, the LIE simply dumps traffic into Manhattan and 34^th Street, before carrying the NJ State Route 495 moniker beyond the Lincoln Tunnel to Secaucus.

No viable alternate routes accompany the Long Island Expressway between Manhattan, Queens, and Eastern Long Island. Certainly tracking the Queensboro Bridge onto the signaled NY 25 and NY 25A deep into Queens and Long Island would represent utter foolishness.

The double-decker I-278 BQE interchange approach is particularly notable. The dual, six-lanes across assembly always appears upon the brink of collapsing upon itself due to the sheer weight of traffic and curvature of the route.

Although traffic counts at the Long Island Expressway may not equal select readings of the I-87 / Deegan and I-678 / Van Wyck, the LIE makes the cut of infamy due to its extensive length and complete lack of aesthetic appeal throughout Queens, NY. The New York I-495 traffic jam very easily degenerates towards 50 miles of torture well into Suffolk County.

#2 - New York City Traffic Most Congested Road: I-278 / Brooklyn - Queens Expressway

The 278 - Brooklyn - Queens Expressway is the Motherless Child of all Interstates.

I-78 terminates at the Holland Tunnel and never goes near this Problem Child. The speed limit on this "expressway" is a measly 45 miles per hour - for good reason. According to highway buff Ty Rogers:

"I-278 (specifically, the Brooklyn-Queens and Gowanus expressways) has to be the worst excuse for an Interstate highway in the whole country."

Personally, I must opine that driving the BQE appears eerily synonymous with witnessing your own death. The roadway is a dangerous mix of local, commercial, and happy-go-lucky tourist traffic making the connection between New Jersey, the outer boroughs, and Long Island.

I-278 remains packed with traffic from the Verrazano to the Triborough as aggressive drivers fight past tight corners, sharp grades, hairpin turns, and abrupt signage. In fact, numerous on-ramps onto the BQE lack acceleration lanes and motorists are greeted with Stop signs prior to entering the expressway.

The fact that several sections of 278 lack shoulders contributes to the trend of BQE traffic flow remaining shut down for hours due to flat tires and overheating jalopies.

Despite its oft-cited designation as the worst limited access road in the United States, 278 does have its admirers. First, I do believe that the physically imposing and diverse roadway are symbolic of the working class sections of Brooklyn and Queens. Secondly, the Manhattan views from the Brooklyn Heights Esplanade are unparalleled.

Surviving the Brooklyn - Queens Expressway is what New York is all about.

#1 - New York City Traffic Most Congested Road: I-95 / Cross Bronx Expressway

To the uninitiated, the I-95 / Cross Bronx Expressway lacks any saving grace.

The Cross Bronx is a brutal bottleneck, notoriously old, and terribly ugly. Irrespective of the crumbling conditions, the I-95 carriageway demarcated the South Bronx from the rest of Greater New York and is blamed for precipitating the tailspin of this community into the most notorious U.S. big city ghetto well into the 1990's.

The Cross Bronx Expressway carries Interstate 95 from New Jersey and the George Washington Bridge complex to the Bruckner Expressway and New England Thruway. The link is one of the more critical cogs of the East Coast highway network, effectively funneling megalopolis traffic into Manhattan per the Harlem River Drive interchange or the Triborough Bridge per the I-87 / Deegan.

Certainly the fusion of such heavily populated municipalities into one 8-mile stretch of road arrives at a cost. Inrix lists the CBX as the maligned host to three of the five worst bottlenecks in the United States.

Despite the controversy, the Cross Bronx stands as an engineering wonder per 1950's construction and demonstrates the sheer power of Robert Moses. The six-lane highway barrels past geological ridges, established rails, utilities, sewers, housing developments, and bustling thoroughfares.

Only the Power Broker could have captured the sheer audacity to ram Interstate 95 and the Cross Bronx Expressway right down the middle of the BX.

Today, The Cross Bronx Expressway is the most congested road in New York City, if not the world.

New York City Traffic: New York's Top-5 Most Congested Roads, Sources:

Steven Anderson, New York City Expressways, http://www.nycroads.com/roads/expwy_NYC/

New York City, http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/?front_door=true

New York City Traffic, http://www.traffic.com/New-York-Traffic/New-York-Traffic-Reports.html