Border stations in southeast Finland had a busy day on Saturday, as hundreds of trucks and trailers queued to cross the border into Russia. On Saturday afternoon, the line of traffic was backed up for 60 kilometres from the Valimaa border crossing station. At Valimaa, the head of the trucking convoy extended back to the border station between Hamina and Kotka. Temporary parking lay-bys have been set up between Rantahaa and Summa, as well as between Koskenkylä and Loviisa. The picture was slightly different at Nuijmaa, with waiting lines running up to 24 kilometres, and crossing Highway Six. Similar temporary parking lots have been established on the western side of Luumäki to help relieve the congestion. The backlog of vehicles at the Imatra border crossing was said to be eight kilometres long. Record Number of Trailers Waiting In the wee hours of Saturday morning, there was a record number of heavy goods vehicles waiting to cross the border point. Chief Inspector at the Valimaa Customs checkpoint, Juhani Kuntsi said the such a large number of parked trucks had never before been seen on Finnish roads. He explained that many of the vehicles had entered Finland to pick up loads between Friday and Saturday. Kuntsi said he expected the situation to change by Sunday. YLE
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