I was sitting in traffic the other day, which is a fairly common occurrence to those that live in Atlanta. Whenever this occurs, inevitably, I, or someone like Jen often asks “why is it always this bad?” The question is pretty redundant, because we all know the answer to it, but it’s partially frustration and partially the fact that there’s really nothing else to say when you’re stuck in suffocating Atlanta gridlock.
Aside from the sheer lack of surface streets leading to a massive reliance on the highways, if you were to ask me, I’d tell you that the biggest problem causing Atlanta traffic is simply Interstate 20, which slices neatly through the middle of Atlanta, going east-west. At three points in the Atlanta highway system does I-20 intersect, and at any given point during the day (or night), those will inevitably be the worst points of traffic. The I-85/I-75 connector probably gets it the worst in both directions on a daily basis, but the west intersection of I-285 and I-20 is notorious for predictably horrific traffic, especially for those traveling southbound; it’s incredible how people needing to travel westbound on I-20 manage to choke out and congest four lanes across 10 miles of roadway on a daily basis.