Holiday traffic: Long delays out of Auckland

Traffic is busy between Pūhoi and Wellsford as holidaymakers head out. Image / NZTA

Motorists heading out of Auckland are facing long delays in some parts of the motorway network, as people head out of the city days before the new year.

The NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi reported busy patches on State Highway 1, northbound, between Pūhoi and Wellsford just after 11am.

"Allow additional time for your journey if you do plan on heading north out of Auckland today," an alert issued on Twitter read.

People were being urged to regularly check travel times via the NZTA website ahead of their journeys.

By midday, it was taking just under an hour to drive from Silverdale to Wellsford, via SH1,
- a trip that usually takes just over half-an-hour when traffic is free-flowing, authorities said.

#HolidayTraffic: Traffic is busy in patches on #SH1 (northbound) between Puhoi and Wellsford. Allow additional time for your journey, if you do plan on heading north out of Auckland today. Travel times can be found here: https://t.co/1ZUEgdHuLx. ^MF pic.twitter.com/xBpSpMITJg

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) December 28, 2020

A fire near the Rosebank Rd off-ramp, on the Northwestern motorway, today. Photo / Supplied

Similarly, the time it was taking to get the other way - from Wellsford to Silverdale, via SH1 - was taking about 51 minutes just after lunchtime.

Normally, that trip takes about 35 minutes according to the NZTA website.

Meanwhile, drivers on Auckland's Northwestern Motorway were faced with another kind of emergency - when a fire was spotted near the Rosebank Rd off-ramp just before 11.30am.

A northern fire communications spokeswoman confirmed they were called to a report of a flax bush on fire. She said they were quickly on the scene to extinguish it.

It is understood no one was injured in the incident.