A crash involving a boat blocked all northbound lanes on Auckland's Northern Motorway.
Video / Chris Leskovsek
A crash on Auckland’s Northern Motorway after a boat came off a trailer temporarily blocked all northbound lanes ahead of Auckland Anniversary weekend.
The incident after the Oteha Valley Rd off-ramp resulted in significant delays with authorities warning motorists to use an alternative route.
St John Ambulance said they were notified of the crash on the Northern Motorway in Albany at 1.42pm but it appeared there were no injuries.
NZTA Waka Kotahi said SH1 was closed northbound for more than an hour after the Oteha Valley Rd off-ramp.
FINAL UPDATE - 2:55PM This section of #SH1 is now OPEN. Expect residual northbound delays to ease. ^HJ https://t.co/vr2ye7c59Y
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) January 26, 2024
The transport authority said motorists heading north were asked to follow the directions of emergency services and use the Oteha Valley Rd off-ramp middle lane to Oteha Valley Rd on-ramp to get past the crash scene.
Police said they were notified of a boat that had come off a trailer and was blocking lanes.
One frustrated motorist told Newstalk ZB: “We’ve just come down on the other side, and someone’s got a ginormous launch, which [has] kind of jack knife off a trailer and it’s blocking every single lane heading north.”
“It would have to be craned back onto a trailer or something, and it’s going to [take a] long time ... I’d like to say an F word but I won’t because I’m on radio.”
A crash on Auckland’s Northern Motorway involving a boat has blocked all northbound lanes. Photo / Chris Leskovsek
Traffic is building, meanwhile, on other highways as Aucklanders escape the city ahead of the anniversary long weekend.
The Southern Motorway is also congested, with traffic crawling from Spaghetti Junction to Drury.
“Auckland traffic is already heavy on SH1 at midday with plenty of people getting away south for the long weekend,” NZTA Waka Kotahi tweeted just before noon.
“Allow extra time if you’re on the Southern Motorway, heading south between Manukau and Papakura. Please be patient and take extra care.”
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) January 26, 2024
Auckland traffic is already heavy on #SH1 at midday with plenty of people getting away south for the long weekend. Allow extra time if you're on the Southern Mwy, heading south between Manukau and Papakura. Please be patient and take extra care. ^TP pic.twitter.com/gpbq4CpCiI
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) January 25, 2024
There will be plenty more time for rounds of Happy Birthday to our biggest city, with bottlenecks to holiday hotspots expected later this afternoon and evening, and again on Monday as motorists return home.
State Highway 1 northbound between Puhoi and Wellsford is expected to be busy until 7.30pm tonight - with the heaviest traffic between 4.30pm and 6.30pm, according to the transport agency’s journey planner website.
Those heading southbound on the same route should plan for a busy motorway till 5.30pm. The worst time to travel will be between 12.30pm and 3.30pm.
Motorists making their way to the beaches and bush of Coromandel along SH2 between Pokeno and Maramarua have been warned eastbound traffic will be busy between 4.30pm and 5.30pm and against between 9.30am and 12.30pm.
The warnings were as expected, an AA spokesman said.
“If this holiday weekend is anything like recent years, traffic is likely to be heavy across much of the motorway network from early afternoon into the early evening. There is likely to be heavy congestion again from mid-morning until mid-afternoon tomorrow as a second wave of Aucklanders head away for the long weekend.”
Now the Northern Motorway had been extended to Warkworth, the bottleneck on SH1 would shift from Puhoi to Warkworth.
“And it’s not uncommon for another bottleneck to form at Wellsford.”
For those heading south it would be “the usual story with the Southern Motorway”, while there was also likely to be congestion on SH2 for people heading to Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty, he said.
“For people travelling today, your best bet at missing the traffic would be to delay your travel until after dinner. For those travelling tomorrow, we’d suggest leaving before 10am or after 4pm as that tends to be the busiest time for traffic on holiday weekends.
“Anyone wanting to avoid the traffic coming back to Auckland on Anniversary Day should plan to arrive home by early afternoon.”
Weather conditions are unlikely to cause travellers headaches today and tomorrow, with fine weather in Northland, Auckland, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty today, according to MetService.
It’s expected to become cloudy tomorrow, with patchy light rain developing later.
However, rain is expected to develop for most parts of the North Island on Sunday, and be “possibly heavy and with thunderstorms in the west”, before easing to a a few showers for most on Monday.
AA advice for holiday weekend travel
Traffic: Check road conditions before you go and think about when you travel if you can.
NZTA’s Journey Planner is particularly useful because its traffic predictions take into account the latest information on road works and road closures.
NZTA is undertaking its biggest-ever summer road works programme so we recommend people plan for their trips to take longer and be prepared for delays with water and snacks in the car.
Rather than having a specific arrival time in mind, we suggest people aim for something like being there ‘in the afternoon’. It can help reduce the stress levels a little if people end up sitting in traffic as time ticks away.
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.
