L.A. Freeway Clog on AAA’s Top 10

NEW YORK —  They’re too old, too crowded and too narrow. They’re the 10 worst highway bottlenecks, and the American Automobile Assn. says they desperately need federal money for repairs.

“A highway system is only as efficient as its most congested point,” said James Kolstad, vice president of AAA public and government relations.

The list names roads and bridges in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York City and Washington.

It includes areas where development has outpaced capacity, where several roads merge, or where the number of lanes quickly reduces. It is based on the number of motorists affected and the length of delays.

“Some of these highways are as they were originally built back in the ‘60s,” AAA spokesman Mike Morrissey said. “Obviously somebody is dropping the ball.”

Included on the list is the East Los Angeles Interchange, where the Santa Ana Freeway merges with the San Bernardino Freeway, the Pomona Freeway and the Hollywood Freeway. More than 566,000 vehicles travel the route daily, creating miles-long gridlock.

Margie Tiritilli, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation, said it can’t be widened because it’s an urban area.

“But there are solutions,” she said. “If people would carpool, it would certainly help.”

In addition, she said, the Metro Rail commuter train should have a line running in that area by the year 2000.

The list is part of AAA’s campaign to draw attention to what it calls a national transportation crisis because of a deteriorating infrastructure.

A federal government study found that more than a third of the major roads in the United States need immediate repair, and that 25% of the 570,000 bridges are “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete.”

Using figures released last year by the Federal Highway Administration, AAA calculates that it will take $72 billion over the next five years to upgrade roads and bridges. It will take $53 billion a year just to maintain current conditions, but current spending is only 65% of that, or $35 billion.

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AAA’s Top 10 Bottlenecks

List is in alphabetical order, with no particular ranking.

* Boston: Interstate 93 north and south. The city’s central artery cuts an elevated pass through downtown.

* Chicago: I-88/Eisenhower Expressway. Traffic merges from the two highways on a road that goes down to a single lane for 1 1/2 blocks.

* Dallas: I-35/I-30. The highways merge and carry downtown traffic through the steep inclines and declines of “The Canyon.”

* Houston: U.S. 59 at the 610 Loop. One lane exits U.S. 59 to 610 Loop.

* Los Angeles: I-5 at intersection of I-10, State Road 60 and State Road 101. About 566,000 vehicles travel through here each day, overwhelming its capacity.

* Milwaukee: I-94 (East-West Freeway, Milwaukee County). Stretches of the road carry twice the intended traffic.

* Minneapolis: Northbound I-35W at Minnehaha Creek (South Minneapolis). Only three lanes are on this major route into downtown.

* New Orleans: I-10 and I-610 in both directions. At an interchange, lanes are reduced from three to two and visibility is restricted as drivers move from an elevated interchange to a surface level roadway.

* New York: Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn (I-278). Primary congestion point is a 3.8-mile stretch between the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and the Belt Parkway.

* Washington: Woodrow Wilson Bridge, six lanes, fed by the eight-lane Capital Beltway (I-95).