125-Mile Traffic Jam Over Entire Weekend In Russia From Snow
Drivers in the 125 miles of road between Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, sat in epic bumper-to-bumper traffic all weekend due in part to 3 feet of snow that began falling on Friday, Dec. 1, and by early Sunday evening, the traffic still extended for 35 miles, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry's State Automobile Inspectorate said.
Inflatable tents with tables, chairs, hot food and drinks were set up for cold passengers along the M-10 highway. The 3 feet of snow caused traffic in both directions and the gridlock was cleared up by Sunday at the rate of 3/4-mile per hour, according to MSN.
A video showed some passengers leaving their cars on the road and getting into the provided tents for something to eat, drink, or just to stretch their legs. As trucks and cars sat motionless, the roads began slowly clearing and in the opposite direction, it looked back to normal and was completely empty as a car went by freely. Media reports suggested though that the traffic was still 125 miles long by Sunday afternoon, meaning that the clean up process was very slow.
The State Automobile Inspectorate spokesman said Sunday that the length of the traffic was slowly decreasing, adding, "Travel remains stop-and-go for a stretch of between 135 and 190 kilometers (84-118 miles) on M-10 in Tver Region. One lane in each direction is clear of snow. Trucks are moving at roughly 5-10 kilometers per hour (3-6 mph)."
Moscow and St. Petersburg are the country's two most populated cities. The traffic problem, located reportedly 30 miles northwest of the city of Tver, began on Friday when heavy snow fell in western Russia. CNN reported that other than the traffic, drivers complained in comments on social networking and news websites that cafes along the jammed roadway took advantage of them by raising their prices over the weekend. Others said some gas stations run out of fuel, or that officials were not much help.
The news report added that Emergencies Ministry made psychological support available to those having trouble coping with the weekend-long traffic disaster.