Congested: SH1 Northcote Road just before 6.30am today. Image / Waka Kotahi NZTA
Traffic heading on to the Auckland Harbour Bridge is once again looking like half a nightmare early this morning.
Motorway cameras on State Highway 1 showed bumper-to-bumper traffic from Northcote Rd
just before 6.30am.
Traffic also looks heavy on Esmonde Rd.
The Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency's real-time travel dashboard shows it is taking about half an hour to get over the bridge to the city from Silverdale.
The trip from Albany to Manukau, via the harbour bridge, is taking about 40 minutes. That is usually a drive of about 24 minutes, according to the site.
NZTA reported just before 6.30am that southbound traffic was building early and the
tail was past Esmonde Rd.
Motorists are being told to check travel times before they head out and to consider using State Highways 18, 16 and 20 to get into the CBD.
There were also delays on the Western Ring Route early today: the drive from Albany to the airport was taking about 42 minutes. That trip usually takes just under half an hour, NZTA said.
Three lanes in each direction are open on the harbour bridge.
Although that is a huge positive over the past few days, people living on the North Shore were still being encouraged to take the bus or catch a ferry into town or to delay travel to
outside of peak hours.
Meanwhile, a crash on the Southwestern Motorway about 6.30am is causing northbound delays back to Lambie Drive.
NZTA is telling motorists in the area to allow for extra time for their journeys on SH20 this morning as a result.
The crash was blocking the right northbound lane just before the Massey Rd off-ramp.
"Please merge left to pass and expect northbound delays," an alert said.
It has been a week since freak gusts of up to 127km/h tipped over two trucks on top of the bridge about 11am last Friday.
One of the trucks, which managed to land on its
wheels again, hit a steel strut, damaging it.
A temporary repair was carried out this week and work is under way to have a more permanent fixture in place over the next few weeks.
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