A slow road for truckers stuck in endless traffic jam

• Source: Global Times
• [04:01 October 16 2009]
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By Lin Meilian

Truck driver Wu Yongqing got a chill up his spine when he looked in his rear-view mirror and saw an endless line of coal trucks crawling at a snail's pace along Shenpan Road, a highway mainly used to transport coal from North China's Shaanxi Province.

Wu was stuck in what may be China's longest traffic jam; truck after truck after truck backed up bumper-to-bumper for 55 kilometers along the road linking Xingxian county in Shanxi Province to coal-rich Shenmu county in Shaanxi Province.

Traffic has been paralyzed along the stretch of busy road since October 7.

Over the past three days, more than 2,000 coal trucks have been stuck on a stretch of road that now looks more like a parking lot than a public highway.

Nearby villagers are busy with selling instant noodles and bottled water to help the truckers ease hunger and thirst, CCTV reported.

To prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel at night, traffic police continually blast their horns to keep coal trucks inching slowly forward.

Local traffic authorities reacted quickly in the wake of nationwide media attention, dispatching dozens of traffic police officers to maintain order around the clock.

The situation eased a little Monday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

However, on Tuesday, trucks blocked the highway again, raising questions over the reasons for the serious traffic jam.