Hong Kong police reopened one of the city's main thoroughfares to traffic on Tuesday after clearing barricades erected by democracy protesters who have occupied streets in the heart of the Chinese-ruled city for two weeks. The protests have caused traffic chaos across the Asian financial hub as demonstrators blocked off main roads on both sides of the harbor, angering taxi drivers and commuters, and causing frustration among scores of others impacted by the move.
Hundreds of Hong Kong police used sledgehammers and chainsaws to dismantle pro-democracy barricades near government offices and the city's financial center on Tuesday, a day after clashes broke out as anti-protest groups tried to reclaim roads. Taxi drivers had threatened to remove the barricades by Wednesday if protesters had not done so by then. By noon on Tuesday, Queensway Road was reopened allowing traffic, including school and tour buses, to flow straight through to the Central business district that is home to global companies such as HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered.
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