China traffic jam stretches 'nine days, 100km'

[pampango]

Source: BBC



A massive traffic jam in China has slowed vehicles to a crawl for a ninth day near Beijing, local media say. Vehicles, mostly lorries bound for Beijing, are backed up for about 100km (62 miles) because of heavy traffic, road works and break-downs.

There has been a boom in road building in China in recent years but vehicle use has soared at the same time.

The stalled traffic stretches between Jining in Inner Mongolia and Huai'an in Hebei province, north-west of Beijing, said the Global Times.

The road works which are obstructing traffic are necessary to repair damage caused by an increase in cargo lorries using the highway, the state-run newspaper said. The motorway, part of the Beijing-Tibet expressway, is heavily used by lorries carrying coal from Inner Mongolia.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11062708

[Spheric]

1. That's a lot of coal to burn.

I doubt the people in Beijing are breathing any easier, though.

Sad.

[KamaAina]

2. Dear god, they ship coal on *trucks*?!

(lorries = trucks in the Queen's English)

They really should be spending some of that infrastructure money building railways. It'd also be a much greener way to get people in and out of Beijing (and Shanghai, for that matter).

[thereismore]

3. Apparently so. And we make gas out of tar sands. nt

[benld74]

4. Hello honey? I'm gonna be late for junior's next birthday, your birthday, our anniversary,,,,

[DeSwiss]

5. K&R

As China follows in our footsteps, "stupidity is as stupidity does."