A public outcry has ensued as another round of congestion gridlocked a stretch of more than 100 kilometers of the Beijing-Tibet Highway, a major national expressway, originating in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on September 2, Xinhua news reported.

A number of small accidents and a few abandoned automobiles served as the catalyst of the gridlock, which has lasted nearly twenty days, spanning a number of provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, including Beijing, Hebei and Inner Mongolia.

This latest traffic jam on the Beijing-Tibet Highway, which is notoriously plagued with traffic jams, has not only inconvenienced the drivers and negatively affected commercial activities, but also caused a number of social issues. For example, some residents of the vicinity are taking profit from the mess by overcharging stranded drivers for food.

Traffic problems are generally caused by inefficient management. As it is the government's responsibility to provide efficient transportation services, the traffic authority is expected to extend a sincere apologize to the public and make prompt efforts in assuaging the issue, according to the Xinhua report.

(Xinhua News Agency September 3, 2010)