NOVA SCOTIA - People lined up for miles to get their first taste of a Louisiana staple after Popeye's opened its newest location in eastern Canada.

The restaurant opened its doors Wednesday in Halifax and is the first Popeye's location in Atlantic Canada. Locals waited in drive-thru lines that wound through multiple roundabouts and backed up a nearby major highway.

Video obtained by CBC Novia Scotia showed the hours-long traffic jam.

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Staff anticipated an influx of customers and hired security to manage the lines, but surrounding streets were still unusable late into the day. The traffic snarl was so bad that an ambulance was seen on video inching its way down a clogged highway. 

Did you see my last tweet about the high traffic volume around highway 102 and Larry Uteck - because a new #popeyes opened near here ? This ambulance tries to weave its way through the traffic. #emergency #traffic #halifax #bedford pic.twitter.com/IJAK8phFlK

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— SteveLawrence (@CBCcameraman) March 31, 2022

Residents say the traffic jam is indicative of a larger problem with the area's infrastructure. 

"There's absolutely no way that emergency vehicles could have gotten into that area," said Vince Garnier, who lives near the restaurant and is the former director of the province's Occupational Health and Safety division. 

The local government is allegedly looking into possible solutions, but one thing is for sure: Halifax residents love that chicken from Popeye's.