Yeah, you read that title correctly.
Back in 2010 in China the world’s longest traffic jam occurred on a highway named the Beijing-Tibet Expressway. Not surprisingly to any of you the traffic jam began because of construction on the roadway and when some of these construction vehicles blocked an exit from the highway. This caused a chain reaction and began a traffic jam that lasting for over 12 days and covering a distance of 62 miles! (Citation)
While the traffic jam was occurring apparently drivers were only able to move their cars 0.6 miles per day, and some of the drivers claimed to be stuck in the traffic jam for as many as five days. (Citation). This highway was originally created for large trucks to travel across China with, however as the population there has continued to grow and with it the number of drivers, the highway has become widely used by everyone. I get angry when traffic backs up around Boston and I have to wait for an hour, I couldn’t imagine having to wait for 5 days to get home! What do you think? What is the longest traffic jam you have ever been in?
Sources:
- http://www.autoevolution.com/news/the-longest-traffic-jam-in-history-12-days-62-mile-long-47237.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_National_Highway_110_traffic_jam
- https://web.archive.org/web/20100826082536/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/asia-pacific/china-traffic-jam-stretching-100-kilometres-could-last-for-weeks/article1683094/