China National Highway 110 traffic jam

The China National Highway 110 traffic jam was a recurring^[1] traffic jam that began to form on 14 August 2010, mostly on China National Highway 110 (G110) and the Beijing–Tibet expressway (G6), in Hebei and Inner Mongolia.^[2][3] The traffic jam slowed thousands of vehicles for more than 100 kilometers (60 mi) and lasted for 12 days.^[3][4][5] Many drivers were able to move their vehicles only 1 km (0.6 mi) per day, and some drivers reported being stuck in the traffic jam for five days.^[5] It is considered to be the longest traffic jam in recorded history.^[6][7][8]

Traffic on the China National Highway 110 had grown 40 percent every year, in the previous several years, making the highway chronically congested.^[5] The traffic volume at the time of the incident was 60% more than the design capacity.^[9]

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.^[3] The road construction which reduced the road capacity by 50%^[2] contributed heavily to the traffic jam and was not due to be completed until mid-September.^[5] Police reported that minor breakdowns and accidents were compounding the problem.^[10]

Greatly increased coal production in Inner Mongolia was transported to Beijing along this route because of the lack of railway capacity, which overloaded the highway.^[11] 602 million tons of coal were mined and transported in 2009; production was expected to rise to 730 million tons in 2010.^[11] An additional factor is efforts by overloaded trucks that lacked proper paperwork for their cargo to avoid a coal quality supervision and inspection station on China National Highway 208.^[11]

Locals near the highway sold various goods like water, instant noodles, and cigarettes at inflated prices to the stranded drivers.^[3][10] A bottle of water normally cost 1 yuan, but on the highway it was sold for 15 yuan. Drivers also complained that the price of instant noodles had more than tripled.^[12] Some vendors created mobile stores on bicycles.^[12]

Authorities tried to speed up traffic by allowing more trucks to enter Beijing, especially at night. They also asked trucking companies to suspend operations or take alternative routes.^[12]

By 26 August 2010, the traffic jam had largely dissipated, reportedly due to the efforts of authorities.^[13] Between Beijing and Inner Mongolia, only minor traffic slowdowns were reported near toll booths.^[13]