Travel

18-Hour Standstill on Meishin Expressway Finally Cleared After Heavy Snow

GIFU, Jan 25 (News On Japan) - Record snowfall across central Japan which caused a major traffic jam on the Meishin Expressway, with vehicles stranded for over 6.6 kilometers, has been resolved after 18 hours of virtual standstill.

The jam started around 10:00 AM near the Sekigahara Interchange on the Meishin Expressway in Gifu Prefecture. Trailers and other vehicles became immobile after their tires got buried in the snow, trapping up to 770 vehicles.

A team of 350 Self-Defense Force personnel worked tirelessly on snow removal. The standstill on the upward lane was cleared by midnight on the 25th, and the downward lane was cleared around 4:00 AM.

A one-year-old boy, a five-year-old boy, and a man in his fifties reported health issues and were transported to the hospital by ambulance.

This area is prone to heavy snowfall. Sekigahara recorded 49 centimeters of snowfall in six hours until 1:00 PM, the highest in the country on Wednesday and a record for this location.

by Brian Dentry

Source: ANN

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