Thaindian News

By Madhuri Dey
Aug 24, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The traffic at the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway in north of China has literally come to a standstill for the past nine days due to a road construction work in Beijing. The massive traffic jam stretches for around 60 miles (100 kilometers) and involves thousands of trucks carrying coals and other perishable items. Vehicles are being able to displace only 1 kilometer per day, according to reports. Adding to the crisis, an official on Tuesday said that the construction work would take the middle of next month to wrap up which means that the situation will continue to be the same in the coming days. The work is reportedly restricting the inbound traffic flow to the capital therefore leading to the massive jam.

However, the director of Zhangjiakou city’s Traffic Management Bureau general office, Zhang Minghai said to media sources that situation of the traffic jam has improved since the weekend. The traffic jam started on August 14 and the director is not sure when the traffic along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway will get to normal again. To clear the traffic as soon as possible, the concerned authorities are allowing more trucks to enter Beijing. They have also advised the truck drivers to change their routes and the trucking companies to suspend operations so that there is no further addition of vehicles to the already gargantuan traffic jam.

However, the present traffic jam is proving beneficial for the local villagers in the Inner Mongolia region and Hebei province. As drivers are stuck in the jam and spending hour playing cards and sleeping, villagers are doing brisk business selling packed lunches, snacks and instant noodles.