Combine all the traffic nightmares you’ve experienced and then add all the similar tales of family members, friends and co-workers and it might equal the obstacle facing drivers near Beijing, China.
The current gridlock in China is a traffic jam for more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) and it’s lasted since August 14.
The back-up involves thousands of trucks between the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Chinese capital of Beijing, according to state media. Fender-benders and broken-down vehicles are adding to the chaos, state media reported.
According to a CNN.com report, some drivers are playing cards, while others are complaining that vendors along the route are capitalizing on the situation by selling over-priced food.
Traffic congestion is common in China. But construction on a section of the Beijing-Tibet Expressway has forced more traffic to National Expressway 110, which runs roughly parallel.
Roads leading to Beijing are particularly notorious for turning into parking lots.
“If there’s no traffic jam in the city, that would be news,” said Niu Fengrui, director of the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “Our government should pick up the pace of urban infrastructure construction and spend some of its budget.”
The massive problem won’t end soon. It’s now in its 10th day and construction in the area is expected to continue until September 13
Article Last Updated: August 23, 2010.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
