Corrections Bus Accident Snarls Route 59 Traffic (VIDEO)

Route 59 traffic was at a standstill and moved at a snail's pace for a few hours Wednesday afternoon. A NYC Corrections Department bus travelling through Monsey on the New York State Thruway and transporting over a dozen inmates flipped over at about 10:40 a.m. Wednesday morning shutting westbound Thruway for hours. Read the full story .

While traffic lanes were re-opened near the accident scene, the Thruway was closed at Exit 12 in West Nyack until about 2 p.m.—forcing motorists to take Route 59 through West Nyack and Nanuet as an alternate route.

"We got stuck between 14A and 14B just sat on the Thruway for two and a half hours," said Linda Heinemann, who was traveling on the Thruway westbound. She said she didn't see any of the accident. "Traffic was backed up for a good four miles. They made everyone get off at exit 12. It was a disaster. We should know, we were on it."

Side streets saw more traffic with motorists attempting to avoid the Route 59 traffic. The situation worsened with the timing of school kids and buses being released. At the Thruway eastbound entrance/exit on Old Nyack Turnpike Road, there is a hot dog/hot sausage lunch truck.

"People were telling me it was about a 2-hour wait and traffic was backed up just south of Airmont Road," said the man who was running the food truck at the Nanuet/Spring Valley exit entrance. "It lasted about 2-3 hours."