Istanbul traffic blocked due to snow

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

DHA photo

Wintry weather has snarled traffic around Istanbul, causing accidents and bottlenecks on highways on both sides of the city.

The Bosphorus Bridge was blocked for an hour this morning following a multiple-vehicle crash that left five people slightly injured. The second bridge, the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, struggled to cope with the extra traffic caused by the first bridge’s closure, with Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality officials reporting traffic jams stretching from Kozyatağı to both bridges on the Asian side.

Traffic was also slowed down elsewhere by accidents at the Hadımköy toll booths on the European side, as well as the Kartal toll booths on the Asian side.

Public transportation was overloaded as many commuters elected to leave their vehicles at home and use alternate means to get to work. The city’s metrobus system was particularly overwhelmed, while the bad weather caused one metrobus to crash through its barrier and enter the normal highway around Okmeydanı on the city’s European side.

Meteorological officials have said the bad weather will continue to affect the country in the following days.