Major Traffic Jams Plague Roads Around New York City

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Traffic was jammed on roadways around New York City all day Thursday.

In the middle of the afternoon rush, multiple expressways were virtually parking lots.

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Total Traffic reported that the West Side Highway and the Henry Hudson Parkway were at a standstill from 57th Street all the way north to the George Washington Bridge.

The westbound Staten Island Expressway was backed up from the Verrazano Narrows Bridge clear across the borough to the Goethals Bridge. In Brooklyn, the eastbound Belt Parkway was jammed all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue.

There was also gridlock on local streets all over Manhattan.

But the traffic woes did not start with the afternoon rush.

Gridlock persisted all day, particularly in areas coming in and out of New Jersey. There was an hour delay coming into the city through the Lincoln Tunnel, and major traffic jams were also seen on the George Washington Bridge.

CBS2's Jessica Layton reported she sat for half an hour in her car on the West Side Highway around 12:30 p.m. The FDR Drive was also a mess, and there was complete chaos in the Queens-Midtown Tunnel.

The jams came amid continued cleanup efforts following the snowstorm that socked the area on Tuesday. With piles of snow on numerous streets and pedestrians forced to navigate around impassable crosswalks, many roads are narrower and drivers have been moving slower.

Sanitation trucks have also gotten in the way of traffic even though crews have been trying to do their jobs.

Motorists are advised to use caution on the roads.