Traffic on the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago at dusk, with the downtown skyline behind.
Chicago drivers lost more than four days of time stuck in traffic last year, and did so on some of the most congested roadways in the world, according to a new ranking.
The ranking released by INRIX, a company specializing in traffic data and analytics, shows Chicago has five of the 10 most congested roads in the United States, and the city itself ranked as one of the most congested in the entire world.
The rankings take various factors into account, including time lost in traffic and average driver speed within the downtown area, according to the company.
The company’s analytics put Chicago as the No. 3 most congested city in the world, with Istanbul overtaking New York atop the rankings in 2024.
According to the company, Chicago drivers spent on average a total of 102 hours stuck in traffic in 2024, or a total of four days and six hours. That marked a 6% uptick over the previous year.
What’s more, Chicago has some of the most congested highways in the country. According to the ranking, the outbound Stevenson Expressway between the Dan Ryan Expressway and Cicero Avenue ranked as the fifth-most congested highway in America, with drivers losing around 79 hours per year on the roadway.
Two sections of the Kennedy Expressway between Cicero Avenue and Ohio Street ranked No. 6 and No. 7 on the ranking, according to the company.
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According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Kennedy Expressway and Dan Ryan Expressway represent one of the most highly used highways in America, with an Annual Average Daily Traffic total of more than 321,000 vehicles per day.
The inbound Eisenhower Expressway between Wolf Road and Harlem Avenue ranked No. 9 on the list, with the outbound Kennedy Expressway between Ontario Street and Irving Park Road rounding out the top-10.
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