Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026:
- The NYC G.W. Bridge finally dethroned at top of freight congestion list.
- With GHG regs now rescinded, trucking org takes aim at NOx rules.
- More truck parking coming to state already considered among nation’s best for parking.
Worst trucking bottleneck in the nation: Chicago west side overtakes G.W. Bridge
The interchange of Interstate 294 and I-290/I-88 in the Chicago metro has dethroned the George Washington Bridge interchange of I-95 at SR 4 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as the most congested freight bottleneck in the U.S.. That's according to the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual "Top Truck Bottleneck List."
The G.W. Bridge held the top spot on the list for the last seven consecutive years.
“Congestion delays inflicted on truckers are the equivalent of 436,000 drivers sitting idle for an entire year,” said ATRI President and COO Rebecca Brewster. “While these congestion metrics are getting worse, the good news is that states do not need to accept the status quo. Illinois has been home to the country’s top bottleneck before, but following a sustained effort to expand capacity, its previous No. 1 bottleneck at the Jane Byrne Interchange [downtown] no longer ranks in the top 25."
Both New York and Illinois ranked in the top 10 for "worst roads" in Overdrive's 2025 Truckers' Highway Report Card, No. 6 New York worse than Illinois (No. 8) by a small margin. Yet congestion issues were cited by a larger share of responding owner-operators who named Illinois worst, with two thirds noting horrendous congestion with their choice.
[Related: Truckers' 2025 Highway Report Card: Worst routes, states, parking]
Rebecca Brewster said insights from the ATRI report offer "policymakers a road map to reduce chokepoints, lower emissions, and drive economic growth.”
In ATRI's newest report, 28 states were found to have at least one top 100 bottleneck. States with the most bottlenecks in the top 100 are Texas, Georgia, and California.ATRI
The annual list measures the level of truck-involved congestion at more than 325 locations on the National Highway System, based an extensive database of freight truck GPS data. Several customized software applications and analysis methods are utilized, along with terabytes of data from trucking operations, to produce a congestion impact ranking for each location.
The I-294 and I-290/I-88 Chicago interchange is the top freight bottleneck in the country for the first time in the report’s history. The Top 10 bottlenecks:
- Chicago: I-294 and I-290/I-88
- Fort Lee, New Jersey: I-95 at SR 4
- Atlanta: I-285 at I-85 (North)
- Houston: I-45 at I-69/US 59
- Atlanta: I-75 at I-285 (North)
- Atlanta: I-20 at I-285 (West)
- Nashville: I-24/I-40 at I-440 (East)
- Houston: I-10 at I-69/US 59
- Cincinnati: I-71 at I-75
- McDonough, Georgia: I-75
ATRI’s analysis utilized data from 2025 and found traffic conditions continue to deteriorate from recent years, in some instances due to work zones that result from increased infrastructure investment. Average rush hour truck speed was 33.2 mph, 2.8% slower than the previous year.
At the top 10 locations, average rush hour truck speed was 29.6 mph.
The full report with the full top 100 freight bottlenecks can be viewed here.
[Related: Fix the potholes! Truckers' Highway Report Card 'Best States' pave the path forward]
ATA calls on EPA to ease heavy-duty NOx standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week took action to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding that ultimately gave the agency the authority to regulate vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions and led to GHG emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks.
That move by EPA rolls back all three phases of those GHG emissions regulations -- the most recent of which, Phase 3, is set to begin phasing in with certain vehicles with model year 2027.
EPA’s move does not, however, impact regulations on particulate matter such as nitrogen oxides (NOx). With that in mind, the American Trucking Associations on Tuesday penned a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin urging the reevaluation of the Heavy-Duty NOx rule taking effect in 2027.
“We remain concerned that the heavy-duty NOx rule imposes significant burdens at a time when the trucking industry continues to contend with a prolonged freight recession and inflationary pressures,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said in the letter. “ATA requests that EPA consider improvements that would reduce cost and complexity and ensure that any new technology that trucking is forced to adopt is reliable.”
[Related: Trucking groups petition EPA to delay 2027 heavy-duty NOx rule]
Spear added that new emission control technologies that will be installed on MY 2027 trucks are “unproven on the highway” and could disrupt the trucking industry’s “ability to efficiently move freight,” adding that a “lack of compliant prototype engines and pre-production models has stalled the technology trials that normally preceded major new emissions standards.”
To alleviate the impact of the regulation, ATA recommended that EPA grant non-conformance penalties (NCPs) to heavy-duty manufacturers to give them additional time to run real-world testing on these new emission control systems. The temporary nature of NCPs under the Clean Air Act would help to facilitate a smoother transition, ATA noted.
ATA also recommended that EPA consider expanding credit life, credit trading, and credit use across different vehicle classes, which would enable manufacturers to remain in compliance while supplying proven technologies to the new truck market.
Last summer, ATA was among groups that called on EPA to delay the Heavy-Duty NOx rule. EPA later confirmed that it is planning to move forward with the rule but noted there may be "major changes" before it takes effect.
[Related: EPA won't delay 2027 NOx rule, but plans 'major changes']
Ohio plans I-71 truck parking expansion
A state already lauded by truckers for having among the nation’s best truck parking is doing even more to expand parking options.
As part of a statewide initiative to significantly boost truck parking, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) will convert the existing Medina County north and southbound I-71 rest areas into a new truck parking facility.
The rest area will close on March 2 to begin demolition on the current site.
"There are additional rest areas within 30 miles of this location, and upgrading these rest areas would have required a significant investment,” said ODOT District 3 Deputy Director Bob Weaver. “Converting them to truck parking will help to improve safety for all motorists along the I-71 corridor.”
[Related: Ohio truck parking expansion plan will add 1,400 spaces]
The project includes expanding from 10 to 29 truck parking spaces at the I-71 northbound location and from 20 to 66 truck parking spaces at the I-71 southbound location. In addition to parking spaces, the site will include lighting and a restroom facility. In total, the project will cost approximately $6.8 million.
On average, about 3,000 trucks pass the I-71 rest areas in Medina County each day, ODOT said.
In 2024, Governor Mike DeWine directed ODOT to address the lack of truck parking in the state and to begin construction of additional truck parking sites as soon as possible. Following an extensive review of ODOT property, Ohio will add at least 1,400 new truck parking spaces at 33 sites across the state.
In Overdrive’s 2025 Highway Report Card, truckers ranked Ohio as the No. 2 best state in the country for parking.
