Tan Xiaomi

THE ongoing reconstruction of the southern part of Xinzhou Road is causing long traffic jams in both directions, after four of the road’s eight lanes were closed yesterday.

Cars now need 15 to 20 minutes to go from one end of the road to the other, which normally takes three minutes. Some 1,000 vehicles now get stuck in traffic jams during rush hour, traffic police said.

“Annoying traffic jams were seen on the road round-the-clock even at 11 p.m.,” said a driver surnamed Liu, who was irked by the traffic congestion caused by the project.

The reconstruction project, which started last December, caused little congestion until half of the road’s lanes were closed.

The renovation will be finished in early July, and the road section will be paved with high-quality asphalt to streamline traffic and reduce noise caused by vehicles, said officials with the municipal urban administration bureau.