Clogged roads home for workers

Motorists are asked people to plan their journeys in advance. Photo / Thinkstock

Holidaymakers heading home this weekend will be hoping a 5km queue of traffic near Whangarei yesterday will not recur.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said it was expecting heavy traffic on main highways across the country as people returned for work on Monday.

Motorists should be aware of heavy traffic at particular hot spots this weekend, NZTA media manager Jan McCarthy said.

She warned motorists to expect delays and asked people to plan their journeys in advance and take their time on the road.

Ms McCarthy said this weekend's weather forecast would also see more vehicles on the road.

"It is expected those still to return to the major cities will do so throughout the weekend, however, with good weather also forecast, a number of day-trippers are also expected to be travelling on the highways."

Roadworks and large volumes of holidaymakers returning home from Northland were blamed for yesterday's snarl-up south of Whangarei.

The traffic came to a standstill along SH1, from Hewlett Rd to Totara Rd, as a passing lane was closed for scheduled maintenance work.

Aucklander Chris Davis, who called from his car at 3pm after being stuck in the queue for about an hour, questioned the competence of whoever authorised the work at such a busy time.

NZTA northern journeys manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult, who apologised for the delay, said the road was being resealed as part of annual summer maintenance.

However, work was stopped about 2pm because of the traffic build-up, and the queue took some time to clear.