Bridge confusion leads to traffic chaos

2008年05月04日 浙江在线新闻网站

TRAFFIC jams appeared on the soon-to-be-opened Hangzhou Bay Bridge this morning as many drivers misunderstood the opening time of the world's longest sea bridge, Xinmin Evening News reported today.

Traffic was bumper to bumper near the bridge about 8am today and more vehicles coming from Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu made the situation even worse, the report cited a driver surnamed Song as saying.

"There were more than 100 automobiles when I arrived at the bridge at 8am," Song told Xinmin. "I didn't see any road blocks or signs that help to divert traffic."

The bridge is due to open to the public at 11:58pm today, following a ceremony in the afternoon. However, many drivers mistook the time as 11:58am, the report said.

"Toll booth staff told us we could drive ahead onto the bridge when we departed Shanghai," Song told the newspaper.

Song told the newspaper that many drivers quarreled with traffic police. Police did acknowledge that unclear directions were one of the reasons behind the congestion, the report said.

The 36-kilometer Hangzhou Bay Bridge starts at Jiaxing, near Shanghai, and ends at Cixi, about 70 kilometers from Ningbo, Zhejiang.

It will reduce the 400-kilometer drive between Hangzhou and Shanghai by 120 kilometers and shave about one hour off the trip.

来源： Shanghai Daily 作者： Lydia Chen 编辑： 侯玮