42nd Street and every entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel were clogged with traffic.
The Memorial Day weekend was off to an extremely slow start for tens of thousands of people stuck in Manhattan and in bumper to bumper traffic.
One couple was heading to New Jersey when the trouble started.
It was the height of rush hour on a Friday, normally tough to navigate, but made worse by an accident in the tunnel.
They are rerouting traffic there.
They wouldn't tell Eyewitness News on camera, but what they are telling motorists is that the Lincoln Tunnel is shut down.
That happened at around 5:30 p.m.
Cars, trucks and buses stopped, motorists dipped their heads into their hands, and many just gave up and tried to back out before getting in too deep.
Some jumped out of their cars trying hard to find an escape.
The delay drove up the time on the road for commuters and anyone else looking to get away for the weekend.
