Nation's Worst Freeway is 26-Mile Swath Through Los Angeles: Report

The 26-mile distance takes 91 minutes to travel at peak rush hour.

Think your daily commute is the absolute worst?

If it includes this Southern California stretch of freeway, the data proves you right: the portion of the U.S. 101 between Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Vignes Street is the country's most jampacked roadway, according to an analysis by the Auto Insurance Center, a news and information website.

On this slice of highway hell, drivers creep along at an average pace of 17 mph. The 26-mile distance takes 91 minutes to travel at peak rush hour.

The analysis looked at data for 471 U.S. urban areas. Unsurprisingly, it ranks LA commutes as among the costliest in time and money.

Drivers in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim lose 80 hours per year to traffic delays, nearly twice the national average. And all that expended time and gas costs them $1,711 annually, compared to the $960 spent by the typical American driver.

Commuters in Riverside and San Bernardino fare only slightly better: they're losing 59 hours and $1,316 to traffic, the report says.

Head on North, though, and you'll hit highway heaven. The report ranks Turlock, California as number one in the cheapest and fastest commutes. Drivers there lose only $31 and one hour per year to traffic.

Here are more of LA's worst roadways, according to the report:

  • U.S. 101 from Soto Street to Haskell Avenue (average speed: 19 mph, worst time: Wednesday at 6 p.m.)
  • I-10 from 20th Street to Alameda Street (average speed: 12 mph, worst time: Wednesday at 5 p.m.)
  • I-5 from Cesar E. Chavez Avenue to Valley View Avenue (average speed: 15 mph, worst time: Friday at 5 p.m.)
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