The 60-mile traffic jam that lasted nine days

(REUTERS/David Gray )

The end may now be in sight for frustrated drivers who have endured a nine-day, 100 km- (60 miles) long traffic jam on a highway leading into Beijing, state media said today.

The snarl-up has been caused by roadworks, which are not expected to finish for another month, state news agency Xinhua said on its website.

Drivers, mainly of freight-carrying trucks, have had to kill time playing cards, and have complained that local people are taking advantage of them by selling food at inflated prices, the report said.

The traffic stretched back all the way into the nearby provinces of Hebei and Inner Mongolia, it added.

But state television said the situation had now "basically returned to normal".

While China is spending billions of dollars on infrastructure such as roads and railways, it is still struggling to keep up with the demands of the booming economy, and traffic jams are common.