Witness describes moment 25,000-volt overhead wires swing after crash on Auckland’s Market Rd overbridge

A commuter was video recording an announcement over Remuera train station’s PA system when he heard the harrowing sound of screeching tyres and a vehicle colliding with a Southern Motorway overbridge’s steel rail this afternoon.

“It sent our whole family into a bit of a panic,” Noah Watson told the Herald.

A van had lost control and crashed on the Market Rd overbridge, with the front of the vehicle dangling over the edge. The crash caused chaos for commuters, backing up motorway traffic for kilometres in both directions and creating delays or cancellations across the city’s train network.

Immediately after the crash, Watson and his family ran to get a view of what had happened, when they saw one of the 25,000-volt overhead electrical lines swinging around in the air.

“It was really scary, we had no idea what to do,” he said.

Watson said bystanders began running towards the vehicle straight after the collision.

“There was a guy trying to rip open the driver’s side door and shouting for help, it was very chaotic,” he said.

A police spokesperson said emergency services responded to a single-vehicle crash on the State Highway 1 overbridge about 3pm.

“One person has been transported to hospital in a serious condition.”

Southbound traffic backed up to Spaghetti Junction and northbound traffic to Ōtāhuhu.

The Market Rd southbound off-ramp was closed while emergency services responded to the crash.

“Thank you for your patience this afternoon,” an NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi spokesperson said.

Emergency services retrieve a van from the Southern Motorway overbridge at Market Rd in Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell

UPDATE - 6:55PM
Market Rd in Epsom remains closed eastbound between Gt South Rd and Market Rd off-ramp, westbound remains open. https://t.co/T3w3unvUic

— Auckland Transport Travel Alerts (@AT_TravelAlerts) January 25, 2024

UPDATE - 4:35PM#SH1 Market Rd off-ramp is now OPEN again. Thank you for your patience this afternoon. ^HJ https://t.co/HChTbQx07S

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) January 25, 2024

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said police were the lead agency and deferred all questions to them.

An Auckland Transport (AT) spokesperson told the Herald some train services had been delayed or cancelled due to the accident.

“Power to overhead lines was briefly turned off as a precaution, but power has been restored,” they said.

All train lines across Auckland have had services delayed or cancelled.

Emergency services deal with a van damaged in a crash on the Southern Motorway overbridge at Market Rd in Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell

In an update at 4.10pm, AT said southern and eastern line train services were running to schedule, but western line services still faced delays of up to 15 minutes and cancellations.

Onehunga line services were also facing delays of up to 10 minutes.

AT said the crash has also had a small impact on bus services that travel through the area.

In an update at 6.55pm, AT said Market Rd remained closed eastbound between Gt South Rd and the Market Rd off-ramp, while westbound was open.