Atlanta has 3 of top 10 truck delays (Jersey: transporting, houses, construction)

[bu2]

https://www.ajc.com/news/traffic/ame...LsiUoO8Po7MjK/

"It’s not the worst in the country anymore, but Spaghetti Junction still sits high on the national list of truck bottlenecks in Georgia.

The interchange at I-285 and I-85 (north) was dethroned by the intersection of I-95 and SR 4 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, in the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual ranking of top 100 truck bottlenecks....

Although Spaghetti Junction fell a spot in the ranking, two metro Atlanta locations rose. The intersection of I-75 and I-285 (north) rose a spot, from No. 4 last year to No. 3. And the area where I-20 intersects with I-285 (west) rose from No. 17 last year to crack the top 10, finishing No. 9 this year...."


I20 at 285E is #25. I20 at 75/85 is #54. I75 at I85 is #91.

As logistics is a major part of Atlanta's economy, this is a concern. So far as I know, Spaghetti Junction is the only one of these 6 where any improvements are planned. By contrast, Houston, for example, has #5, #13 and #24 near downtown Houston. All are part of a massive rebuilding project that has been under planning for about a decade and has already started to some extent.

Again, an outer belt, linking 85N with 85S and 75N with 75S would improve these situtations. The much maligned "northern arc" would do less than a western and eastern to relieve these problems.

[ATLTJL]

These guys make their livings in logistics. They have engineers who study this stuff all day long.

How hard is it to keep trucks away from these bottlenecks during peak times? Spaghetti Junction isn't bad at all at 5am!

[cqholt]

[bu2]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

These guys make their livings in logistics. They have engineers who study this stuff all day long.

How hard is it to keep trucks away from these bottlenecks during peak times? Spaghetti Junction isn't bad at all at 5am!

Its called rest time and sleep hours and log books. Truckers have a lot of constraints. And sometimes they have to deliver in Atlanta during the day.

[ATLTJL]

Your point is taken. I understand it's not that simple.

But still... the people who plan this stuff out are industrial engineers. They're proficient in types of math I've never even heard of. A lot of them make 6-figure salaries. They know how to send deliveries to Tupelo, Mississippi and still make sure the truck doesn't come back empty.

So if they can't figure out how to plan routes so trucks don't hit spaghetti junction at 8:30am or 5:30pm, perhaps they deserve all that lost productivity.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Your point is taken. I understand it's not that simple.

But still... the people who plan this stuff out are industrial engineers. They're proficient in types of math I've never even heard of. A lot of them make 6-figure salaries. They know how to send deliveries to Tupelo, Mississippi and still make sure the truck doesn't come back empty.

So if they can't figure out how to plan routes so trucks don't hit spaghetti junction at 8:30am or 5:30pm, perhaps they deserve all that lost productivity.

Noting that logistical coordinators are far from as educated as you seem to believe they are. They are load coordinators, nothing more or nothing less. They recieve bids for assignments and route trucks to pick them up and deliver them, usually in conjunction with another bid, and / or contract.

Their job is not to route tractor trailers around busy interchanges, their job is to meet the customers demands, not Atlanta's demands. There are many services both within the metro and within the region that require deliveries to be made during day hours, especially when it comes to items such as:
- Food and Produce
- Gasoline
- Medical related deliveries
ect

On top of, the loads are usually coordinated to meet docking hours, as most docks are not staffed 24 Hours and many are servicing several trucks within a work shift. If they coordinated trucks only to deliver within non peak hours then that severely limits the amount of deliveries they are able to make within a day by congesting docks during periods where trucks are allowed to run possibly disabling the ability to handle the workload within the period, delaying services and goods, and even the trucks (layovers) which in turn also delays the next client or load assignment.

This isn't even getting into strict NHTSA / DOT laws which regulate the hours trucks are able to drive to begin with. They have to take 10 hour breaks after every 8 hours if I recall correctly.

In other words, any idea or belief that we can suddenly just shut out truck traffic to certain times of the day, is a fantasy and will remain that way.

[PKCorey]

I was looking at the data this weekend when it came out and the interesting part to me is the total number hours of delays at some of these interchanges.

https://truckingresearch.org/2019/02.../#.XGyqfehKjIW

285 and 85 is roughly slow from 6 am until 8 pm most days

https://truckingresearch.org/wp-cont...bn002-2019.pdf

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

I was looking at the data this weekend when it came out and the interesting part to me is the total number hours of delays at some of these interchanges.

https://truckingresearch.org/2019/02.../#.XGyqfehKjIW

285 and 85 is roughly slow from 6 am until 8 pm most days

https://truckingresearch.org/wp-cont...bn002-2019.pdf

Yes, Spaghetti Junction is a nightmare even on weekends. Usually it's the ramp from I-285 East to I-85 North. I-85 South to I-285 South or West is also no laughing matter either.

[LTCM]

The number of wide loads, including many with pacer cars, I see during rush hour on the top end is insane. Like your truck is blocking two lanes, wtf made you send that thing out at that time.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Noting that logistical coordinators are far from as educated as you seem to believe they are. They are load coordinators, nothing more or nothing less. They recieve bids for assignments and route trucks to pick them up and deliver them, usually in conjunction with another bid, and / or contract.

Their job is not to route tractor trailers around busy interchanges, their job is to meet the customers demands, not Atlanta's demands. There are many services both within the metro and within the region that require deliveries to be made during day hours, especially when it comes to items such as:
- Food and Produce
- Gasoline
- Medical related deliveries
ect

On top of, the loads are usually coordinated to meet docking hours, as most docks are not staffed 24 Hours and many are servicing several trucks within a work shift. If they coordinated trucks only to deliver within non peak hours then that severely limits the amount of deliveries they are able to make within a day by congesting docks during periods where trucks are allowed to run possibly disabling the ability to handle the workload within the period, delaying services and goods, and even the trucks (layovers) which in turn also delays the next client or load assignment.

This isn't even getting into strict NHTSA / DOT laws which regulate the hours trucks are able to drive to begin with. They have to take 10 hour breaks after every 8 hours if I recall correctly.

In other words, any idea or belief that we can suddenly just shut out truck traffic to certain times of the day, is a fantasy and will remain that way.

^^^ THIS ^^^

In addition to food/produce (grocery stores, markets, restaurants), gasoline/fuel, and medical-related deliveries (including hospitals, clinics, rehab/nursing facilities, etc.), facilities such as offices, schools, clothing/shoe department stores, warehouses, distribution centers, and truck terminals as well as construction sites also generate much truck traffic in a large major metropolitan area/region like Atlanta, which is a major (massive) logistical hub, nexus point and crossroads for the entire Southeastern North American continent.

Our road network (including Interstate superhighways and major surface arterial routes) does not exist only for the purpose of enabling commuter traffic to travel to and from work during peak travel hours (including morning and afternoon/evening rush hours).

Our road network primarily exists to facilitate the expedited transport of the goods and materials that enable our economy to function and operate at the highest possible level.

Without trucks transporting those goods and materials at all hours of the day, our economy basically does not function at any level, much less a high level. Trucks are the very backbone of the prosperous economy that we enjoy in modern times.