Commuter chaos on elevated highway
Print Edition
COMMUTERS faced traffic chaos yesterday morning after a section of the elevated Middle Ring Road in north Shanghai had to be closed after an accident.
An overloaded truck carrying 30 concrete piles, each weighing 3 tons, hit the cement parapet of the elevated road, spilled its load and blocked the Hutai Road and Wenshui Road intersection.
The city’s road administration bureau said the damage to the road was severe and could take at least two weeks to repair.
Following the accident, which happened between the Zhenhua Road and Wanrong Road off-ramps at 10 minutes past midnight, a 47-meter section of the road was bent upward by 40 centimeters, the bureau said.
There were no injuries or casualties, but four cars were slightly damaged when driving over the damaged section.
Trucks are banned from the Middle Ring Road but the one involved in the accident was the second of four carrying the same cargo, which illegally used the road overnight from Sunday to Monday, police said. The trucks are registered with Jianjing Logistics Co.
Li Jiada, the driver of the truck which crashed, is under police investigation, as are the other three drivers and a director of the company.
Police said Li wasn’t driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
His truck was said to have loaded up at a building materials dealer on Husong Highway in Songjiang District, and left at 11:20pm heading for the Middle Ring Road from the S5 Shanghai-Jiading Highway.
Zuo Tianfu, deputy chief of Shanghai’s traffic police, said it was the largest truck to have been involved in an accident on the Middle Ring Road.
By yesterday afternoon, the tubular concrete piles had been lifted off the elevated road by cranes.
Because of the accident, about 3 kilometers of the Middle Ring Road, from Gulang Road to Hutai Branch Road, has been closed and won’t be open again until repairs to the damaged section have been completed.
Underneath the road, several intersections on Wenshui Road, Hutai Road and Hutai Branch Road were subject to changes to relieve traffic pressure.
Residents in Putuo, Jiading, Baoshan and northern Jing’an districts were those most affected by the accident.
On the streets under the Middle Ring Road, there was heavy congestion from Taopu Road to Jinshajiang Road from 6:40am until 9:45am, while traffic was at a standstill from Hutai Road to the Gonghe Overpass until 10am, according to the road administration bureau.
The S5 Shanghai-Jiading Highway, G2 Beijing-Shanghai Highway and G50 Shanghai-Chongqing Highway also suffered congestion until noon.
Mike Lin, who lives on Xingzhi Road and usually drives to work via the Middle Ring Road, said he found it impossible to drive out of his residential complex around 7am yesterday.
At that time he wasn’t aware there had been an accident but the congestion was such that he chose to leave his car and head for Xingzhi Road station to take the Metro instead.
“At 7:30am, the Metro station was unbelievably crowded and I finally got on a train after missing three,” he said. His journey to work, usually just 25 minutes, took him an hour and half.
Celine Chen, who also lives in the area and drives to work, said she had to take the day off because of the congestion.
“I figured that even if I had continued on my way, it would be around noontime when I reach the office,” she said.
Sun Beili, who lives on Gulang Road, said her husband usually drives her to work, but the congestion also forced her to head for the nearest Metro station.
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