Prosecutors have opened a check into whether drivers' rights were violated earlier this week when a massive traffic jam paralyzed the only Moscow-St. Petersburg highway.
The move was prompted by media reports of shoddy work by road workers, including those charged with clearing the M-10 highway of snow, prosecutors said in a statement Thursday.
Officials have denied responsibility for the 70-kilometer traffic jam, which trapped an estimated 9,000 drivers, many with scarce food, water and fuel, following heavy snowfall.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has blamed the "ineffective work of road services," saying road workers failed to cover roads with deicing agents in time.
(MT)