Surety Bonds

Stuck in Traffic: Add It Up!

06.16.2021

The cost of freight transport delays have been analyzed by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The conclusion? Yikes! Perhaps understanding just how painful the “chokepoints” along our interstate highways are will help get the infrastructure commitments flowing.

660 Million Hours of Delay

According to ARTBA, that’s how many hours freight shipments were delayed on roadways across the country in 2019. Using data released in 2020 by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), ARTBA’s analysis concludes that in 2019, the economy lost over $42 billion due to freight laden trucks stuck in traffic snarls.

As the Association’s chief economist  points out: “Our examination brings into sharp focus the continued costs of congestion on America’s highway network. Legislation to address freight mobility through increased federal transportation investment would help alleviate these bottlenecks, increase business productivity and power the economy for the next generation.”

Not surprisingly, the biggest chokepoints occur along the Interstates and involve New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin, Houston, Nashville, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. With the value of domestic freight expected to more then double by 2045, it sure does seem like time to get going on the road and bridge building. Get ready to bid—faster and with more confidence then ever on whatever contracts are coming your way, with The Partnership Account®  from Colonial Surety Company. We believe in speed—and privacy—that’s why contractors across the country are coming to Colonial Surety Company for a powerful surety line of credit—and more. Contractors who complete a brief (we promise!) pre-qualification for Colonial’s surety line of credit even receive, for free, Dun & Bradstreet scores.

Pre-qualify and Receive Free Scores Here!

 Once approved for The Partnership Account® with Colonial, you’ll:

 

  • Use your private Owner’s Dashboard® for a personal window into your underwriting profile. Review the statistical analysis of your financial statements and free Dun and Bradstreet scores, profitability, and more.

 

  • Access a powerful online surety management system to issue bid bonds, order performance, and payment bonds, update work in progress, check your current and aggregate limits, view open and closed bid and performance bonds, and more.

 

  • Clearly see your bonding limits, and always have direct access to our underwriter if you need the excess capacity to bid on a job.

 

  • Protect the confidentiality of your bids—after all, no one’s in the middle when you do it yourself, right?

 

Come on in: The Partnership Account®.

 Where Are The Costliest Delays?

 According to the ARTBA, in 2019 highway freight shipments totaled 27 million days of delay—one-third of which was lost on interstate highways. Here are the “top three” identified chokeholds and costs:

 

  1. I-95/I-295 in New York, NY
    I-278/I-678 to NJ side of GW Bridge/SR-4
    263,116 hours of delay
    $76,000,000 total cost of congestion on the corridor

 

  1. I-90/I-94 in Chicago IL
    I-94N to I-55
    140,942 hours of delay
    $86,900,000 total cost of congestion on the corridor

 

  1. I-605 in Los Angeles
    I-5 to SR-60
    139,777 hours of delay
    $62,500,000 total cost of congestion on the corridor

 Grrrr! If you hate delays and inefficiency—and hope to get busy bidding and building, come on—get armed with The Partnership Account®  from Colonial Surety. Be ready to go after all kinds of new projects with speed and confidence — knowing your bidding  and financial information is secure.

 Yes Please Qualify Me For The Partnership Account® Today!

Colonial is built on reliability, affordability and dependability. Founded in 1930, we have proven long-term financial stability; we’re licensed in every single state in the U.S.; we are listed by the U.S. Treasury as an approved surety; and we’re rated “A” Excellent by A.M. Best – an accolade of which we are extremely proud. Let’s Partner!