AUBURN – As if last- minute shopping weren’t frantic enough, a pair of broken down vehicles on Center Street Thursday afternoon caused cars and trucks to back up in all directions.

At about 2 p.m., traffic headed from outer Center Street toward the malls came to a near- standstill.

One woman reported it took her a half-hour to get from Center Street across the bridge to Lewiston. A Lewiston police officer said it took him an hour to get to the police department in that city from Route 4 in Auburn. Drivers with cell phones called police to report red lights that would not turn green.

Heavier than normal traffic snarled along the bridges and on roads leading to the malls for most of the day, police said. When two vehicles broke down on the busy strip, the traffic problem got that much worse.

Police said it was the same situation on Turner Street, as drivers sought back routes to Wal-Mart and the Auburn Mall.

No serious problems were reported other than inflamed tempers and the seasonal sound of car horns blaring.

Traffic snarls cleared in the middle of the afternoon. Then around nightfall, during the afternoon commute, more jams were reported on Center Street and surrounding areas.

Police said they expect traffic patterns to return to normal after the pre-Christmas rush.