Earlier congestion was so bad the New Zealand Transport Agency is asking motorists to delay their travel if possible.
An earlier crash, now cleared, left Northern Motorway drivers with an hour-long commute from Oteha Valley into the city.
Motorists were advised to take State Highway 18 and even State Highway 16 to get to town faster.
Now a spokeswoman said those routes were packed with vehicles and slowgoing with a crash earlier blocking one of the alternative routes.
That accident had since been cleared but there were still major delays.
The headache was worsened with crashes on the South-western Motorway and a breakdown on the Southern Motorway on the busy Newmarket Viaduct.
The transport agency spokeswomansaid a series of minor accidents and breakdowns had added up to a large problem affecting peak hour travel.
If motorists were going to use the affected motorway networks then they could expect delays reaching their destination.