In August 2010, a particularly extreme traffic snafu practically shut down the road between Inner Mongolia and Beijing.
Construction on a section of the Beijing-Tibet Expressway forced more traffic to National Expressway 110, which runs roughly parallel. The resulting gridlock tied up 62 miles of highway and took some drivers nine days to traverse.
The jam eventually cleared, but some observers labeled it an example of how China's rapid growth has outstripped urban planning -- a trend that can lead to environmental and social costs.
