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This metro Phoenix freeway is the worst in Arizona, drivers say

Arizonans often complain that their state has the worst drivers, but some roads are particularly bad. Here’s the spot that Arizona drivers hate the most.

cars on a freeway with an overhead sign saying rain wet roads slow down
Highway signs advise drivers to slow down during a rainstorm in Tempe on Jan. 29, 2021. (Patrick Breen/The Republic via Reuters Connect)

Arizonans continuously complain that their state has the worst drivers, but some roads in particular make drivers angriest.

A study from Munley Law surveyed more than 3,000 workers across the U.S. to identify the roads and highways that make people the most upset to drive on. The study found booming cities like Phoenix tend to make driving hectic because of the mass population and highways that aren’t equipped to support that many drivers.

Results found that highway systems such as “loops, stacks, spaghetti joints and flyovers” are among the types that cause the most congestion in growing cities like Phoenix.

Here is the spot that Arizona drivers hate the most.

I-17 at the I-10 interchange

This stretch of freeway near downtown Phoenix, affectionately nicknamed “the Stack,” makes Arizona drivers angriest to drive on, but for good reason.

I-10, specifically between Seventh Street and 16th Street in Phoenix, is metro Phoenix’s busiest stretch of freeway. When you add the interchange and all the merging vehicles, the frustration escalates.

The area of the highway around downtown Phoenix is a common route for many West Valley commuters, long-haul truck drivers and those heading to California.

Reporting by Paige Moore, Arizona Republic

 

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Jessica Swarner
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