Snow in New York brings world’s busiest bridge to a standstill

Bad weather on the east coast of the United States has left traffic floundering on the George Washington Bridge between New York and New Jersey.

The crossing is the busiest road bridge in the world and carries more than 100 million vehicles a year over the Hudson River. It has two levels, with four lanes in each direction on the upper deck and three each way on the lower – making a total of 14 lanes of traffic.

Unexpected snowfall in the region, however, left the bridge almost impassable after several crashes in the slippery conditions.

One motorist filmed the aftermath of one of the impacts, involving two large lorries and several cars.

The video shows that conditions are extremely slippery, despite the relatively thin layer of snow on the road, and other traffic can be seen trying to get round the scene of the crash. The motorist describes it as a ‘clusterf**k’, and in their accompanying comment warns others to ‘expect heavy traffic’.

Other roads in the region have reported similar problems. The Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx, New York City, was also left impassable – and officials warned that snowploughs were unable to clear the road because of the number of accidents. The snowfall also brought down several trees across the city, blocking a number of smaller roads.

Motorists are being warned against travelling unless necessary.