An increase in vehicles and a decrease in driving lanes made for a tedious afternoon Sunday when several cars were involved in an accident in the westbound lanes of the Kansas Turnpike near mile marker 210.

The accident occurred before 4 p.m. at the beginning of a construction zone near the turnpike service area east of Lawrence, and traffic was at a standstill while emergency crews worked. The wreckage was cleared by 5 p.m., turnpike dispatchers said, but traffic remained slow for hours afterward because of the high number of vehicles on the roadway.

Several events in the Kansas City area — including a Kansas City Royals game, a NASCAR race at the Kansas Speedway and the American Royal barbecue event — had put a large number of drivers on the road around the time of the accident.

The Kansas Turnpike just east of Lawrence is limited to one lane in each direction during a construction project. The limits are expected to remain until just before Thanksgiving.

Drivers who were able to get off the turnpike also encountered congested roadways and slow traffic on other routes, including U.S. Highway 24-40.

The afternoon accident was the second that snarled traffic on the turnpike Sunday. Before noon, emergency crews responded to a rollover accident on eastbound I-70 near the Douglas/Shawnee County line, which stalled traffic for a brief period.

The driver reportedly suffered minor injuries.

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