China National Highway 110 traffic jam

The China National Highway 110 Traffic Jam was a recurring[1] massive traffic jam that began to form on August 14, 2010, mostly on China National Highway 110 (G110) and Beijing–Tibet expressway (G6), in Hebei and Inner Mongolia.[2][3] The traffic jam slowed down thousands of vehicles for more than 100 kilometres (60 mi) and lasted for more than ten days.[3][4][5] Many drivers were able to move their vehicles only 1 km (0.6 mi) per day, and some drivers reported being stuck in the traffic jam for five days.[5] It is considered to be one of the longest traffic jams by some media.[6][7][8]

Cause

Traffic on the China National Highway 110 had grown 40 percent every year in the previous several years, making the highway chronically congested.[5] The traffic volume at the time of the incident was 60% more than the design capacity.[9]

The cause of the traffic jam was reported to be a spike in traffic by heavy trucks heading to Beijing, along with National Highway 110's maintenance work that began five days later.[3] The road construction which reduced the road capacity by 50%[2] contributed heavily to the traffic jam and was not due to be completed until mid-September.[5] Police reported that minor breakdowns and accidents were compounding the problem.[10]

Greatly increased coal production in Inner Mongolia was shipped to Beijing along this route because of the lack of railway capacity, which overloaded the highway.[11] 602 million tons of coal were mined and shipped in 2009; production was expected to rise to 730 million tons in 2010.[11] An additional factor is efforts by overloaded trucks which lack proper paperwork for their cargo to avoid a coal quality supervision and inspection station on China National Highway 208.[11]

Creation of mini-economy

Locals near the highway sold various goods like water, instant noodles, and cigarettes at inflated prices to the stranded drivers.[3][10] A bottle of water normally cost 1 yuan, but on the highway it was sold for 10 yuan. Drivers also complained that the price of instant noodles had more than tripled.[12] Some vendors created mobile stores on bicycles.[12]

Response

Authorities tried to speed up traffic by allowing more trucks to enter Beijing, especially at night. They also asked trucking companies to suspend operations or take alternative routes.[12]

End

By late August 2010, the traffic jam largely dissipated, reportedly due to the efforts of authorities.[13] Between Beijing and Inner Mongolia, only minor traffic slowdowns were reported near toll booths.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Monster traffic jam ... again" article by He Dan and Wang Qian in the China Daily Updated: 2010-09-04 07:35, accessed September 4, 2010
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "京藏高速多路段堵车 110国道施工致通行力降50%". Tianjin net (People's Daily Online). 2010-08-27. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "China's nine-day traffic jam stretches 100km". AFP (AFP). 2010-08-23. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  4. ↑ "世界惊奇中国高速大堵车(The world is surprised by Chinese highway massive traffic jam)". Xinhua international (Xinhua). 2010-08-25. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Chang, Anita (2010-08-24). "China traffic jam stretching 100 kilometres could last for weeks". The Globe and Mail (The Globe and Mail). Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  6. ↑ "Chinese drivers stuck in the longest traffic jam". Peter Foster (The Daily Telegraph). 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  7. ↑ "Gridlock is a way of life for Chinese". Jonathan Watts (The Guardian). 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  8. ↑ "China's 10-day traffic jam "longest ever"". Ananth Krishnan (The Hindu). 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  9. ↑ "限行致京藏高速堵车:110国道车流超设计流量6成". 新京报 (Sohu.com). 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ford, Peter (2010-08-24). "China traffic jam enters Day 11. A tale of deceit and criminality?". Christian Science Monitor (Christian Science Monitor). Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Bottlenecks Clog Northern Artery" 2010-09-14 08:15:51, China Daily, Web Editor: Jiang Aitao, accessed September 14, 2010; Original article at China Daily, accessed September 14, 2010
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "China's massive traffic jam could last for weeks". CTV (CTV). 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "China traffic jam vanishes overnight?". The Christian Science Monitor. 26 August 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2011.

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