Sofia residents, who are used to the traffic jams that block circulation in the city everyday, still can be surprised at any moment by even bigger traffic jams.

On March 18 2008, car queues heading to the city centre started from the centre of the Lyulin residential district to the west and from Pliska Hotel on Tsarigradsko Chausse to the east, as witnessed by The Sofia Echo.

The only location in the city where traffic is impeded for objective reasons is Sitnyakovo Boulevard, where tram tracks are being replaced. The work started on March 17 and is due to be completed by early-April, a Sofia city hall spokesman said when contacted by The Sofia Echo. However, that alone should not affect traffic to such a degree.

The sole explanation proferred by the city hall was that there were "too many cars" in the city.