THE CHINA NATIONAL HIGHWAY 110 TRAFFIC JAM

The China National Highway 110 traffic jam was a recurring 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. The traffic jam slowed down thousands of vehicles for more than 60 miles and lasted for two weeks. Many drivers were able to move their vehicles only 0.6 mi per day, and some drivers reported being stuck in the traffic jam for five days.

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. The road construction which reduced the road capacity by 50% contributed heavily to the traffic jam and was not due to be completed until mid-September. Police reported that minor breakdowns and accidents were compounding the problem. The traffic volume at the time of the incident was 60% more than the design capacity.