Auckland traffic: Southern Motorway lanes reopened after crash cleared, traffic eases

• Two northbound lanes were blocked on the Southern Motorway after a crash between a truck and another vehicle this morning.
• All lanes have reopened after the crash was cleared, but commuters still faced a slow journey into Auckland.
• Drivers were earlier advised to delay journeys or use alternative routes after the crash, which injured one motorist.

A crash that blocked multiple northbound lanes on the Southern Motorway this morning has been cleared, with all lanes reopened to traffic, the New Zealand Transport Agency says.

However, motorists are being warned to allow extra time for travel as snarled traffic slowly clears after the 7.10am crash blocked the two right lanes on State Highway 1, just after the SH20 West link to the airport.

One person was taken to Middlemore Hospital with moderate injuries after the crash, which involved a truck and another vehicle, police said.

UPDATE 8:25AM
This earlier crash on #SH1 after the SH20 Link West (to Airport) has been fully cleared. All lanes north are OPEN. Allow extra time for northbound delays on this route, currently from Drury, to slowly ease. ^TP https://t.co/0Sx0ink1kD

— NZ Transport Agency - Auckland & Northland (@nztaaklnth) March 18, 2025

Commuters had earlier been warned that “long delays [were] likely” after the rush hour incident.

An hour after the crash, journeys from Papakura to downtown Auckland on both SH1 and via SH20 were taking up to 90 minutes, according to Google Maps.

It was also taking almost an hour to drive 10km from Papakura to Manukau on SH1 at 8.15am, although the northbound traffic crawl began as far south as Drury.

However, by 8.40am the road journey from the Papakura on-ramp to downtown Auckland on SH1 was taking just under 70 minutes, according to Google Maps.

As of 9.40am the journey time had plunged to about 40 minutes.

Commuters also faced slow journeys into downtown Auckland from other parts of the city this morning.

Driving from Oteha to central Auckland on the Northern Motorway is taking just under an hour as of 8.30am due to congestion between Oteha and Sunnynook.

And those driving the 16km between Massey and downtown Auckland on the Northwestern Motorway can expect a travel time of about an hour, according to Google Maps.

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