All stranded cars cleared from snow-hit Japan expressway Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
Vehicles are stranded on the Kanetsu Expressway in Minamiuonuma, Niigata Prefecture, on Friday after heavy snow hit a wide area along the Sea of Japan coast. | KYODO
Kyodo, JIJI Dec 19, 2020
Niigata – All vehicles that had remained stranded on a long stretch of expressway north of Tokyo due to heavy snow were cleared by late Friday, according to the road’s operator, two days after the congestion first formed.
Massive Snowstorm Hits Japan, Trapping More Than 1,000 Cars On A Highway
Friday, December 18, 2020
A snowplow clears a path beside cars stranded Friday on the snow-covered Kan-etsu Expressway in the city of Minamiuonuma in Japan s Niigata prefecture.
STR / Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images
It started with a large vehicle that got stuck in the deepening snow. That minor incident grew into a monster snow-covered traffic jam as more than 1,000 cars became stranded on a highway that runs between Tokyo and the city of Niigata along the Sea of Japan coast.
The snarl began Wednesday night, local news sources reported. The snow was extremely heavy, one driver told the public broadcaster NHK. As time went by, the cars got buried. I was really scared. I ve eaten all of my food and drinks. Now, to drink water, I have to melt snow I collect in a plastic bottle.
Vehicles stuck on the Kan-etsu Expressway in Minami-Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, on Dec. 18 (Yosuke Fukudome)
Hundreds of motorists remain stranded on the Kan-etsu Expressway that connects Niigata Prefecture and Tokyo after heavy overnight snow from Dec. 16 paralyzed traffic.
As of noon on Dec. 18, about 1,000 cars were still stalled on the inbound lane of the expressway between the Koide Interchange in Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, and the Shiozawa Ishiuchi Interchange in Minami-Uonuma, also in the prefecture, according to East Nippon Expressway Co. (NEXCO East).
Heavy snowfall also snarled expressway traffic in Gunma Prefecture.
Cars stopped moving on the morning of Dec. 17 at many locations between the Koide and Minakami interchanges, NEXCO East said. The Minakami Interchange is in Minakami, a town in Gunma Prefecture.
About 670 vehicles still stranded in snow on Kanetsu Expressway japantoday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from japantoday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.