Traffic gridlock foreshadows snow's woes

Rains that began late Monday caused collisions throughout the city. An accident at the Mahmutbey Viaduct on the TEM highway, one of the main thoroughfares of the city of 15 million people, caused traffic problems when a truck driver lost control of his vehicle on the wet roads and crashed into another truck and broke through the road barriers.

The driver escaped with the help of the passersby from the truck that was left hanging over the edge of the road before being taken to hospital.

That accident occurred on the European side of the city around 5:30 a.m., close to the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge over the Bosphorus and caused traffic on the TEM highway on the Asian side of the city to stop for half an hour.

Meanwhile, roadwork on the Bosphorus Bridge for the Metrobus line added to Istanbul residents' problems, many had to spend hours in traffic commuting to work.

In another accident in the Maltepe district on the Asian side of the city, one person died and another five were injured when a car crashed into three others on the coastal highway near Kadıköy.

The cold weather front that has affected much of the country is expected to continue until the weekend, with temperatures dropping by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius in the west and the north.

According to the State Meteorological Institute, rains in the northwest, west and north of the country will be especially heavy for the next few days.