Snowstorm closes major highway into Mexico City for 8 hours

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Traffic stands still due to snow, in Rio Frio, Mexico, Thursday, March 12, 2015. One of the main access roads to the city of Mexico was closed on Thursday after a snowstorm in the mountainous area east of the capital which reached unusual levels.

Associated Press

Thursday, March 12, 2015 | 7:33 p.m.

MEXICO CITY — A snowstorm disrupted traffic on one of central Mexico's most heavily traveled highways Thursday, initially causing an eight-hour closure and then another shutdown after a brief reopening because of slippery conditions.

The federal highway and bridges agency announced the re-closure of the highway that crosses the mountains east of Mexico City late in the afternoon as temperatures dropped. Earlier in the day, the Federal Police said several sections of the road were closed in both directions after the storm dumped more than 2 inches (50 millimeters) of snow.

The highway links the central state of Puebla and Mexico City and has one of the higher volumes of traffic in the country as the key transit link between the capital and the Gulf coast.

Mexico's water commission said Thursday that the country has been hit by a cold front that sent temperatures below freezing in parts of the country, including Puebla.