URUMQI - A pivotal highway in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region reopened to traffic Friday morning, 12 hours after being blocked by a blizzard, local authorities said.

Traffic resumed on the highway in Maytas of Tacheng prefecture at 7:30 am Friday after the blizzard weakened and the snow was cleared, a spokesman with the local road management bureau said.

High winds and heavy snow halted traffic on the highway at 7:20 pm Thursday, when visibility fell to less than 2 meters, he said.

The blizzard trapped 27 vehicles and left 135 passengers stranded on the road until late Thursday night, the official said.

He said all the passengers had been safely evacuated by midnight.

Maytas, in Emin county, is prone to blizzards, which block roads and trap vehicles almost every winter.