A 10 car pile-up on an Auckland motorway has led to kilometres of traffic queues and suburban streets down to a standstill.
People heading to the airport are being warned to allow extra time to catch their flights because of the earlier smash on the Southwestern Motorway just past the Mangere Bridge.
Fire Service northern communications shift manager Jaron Phillips said up to 10 vehicles were involved in the crash just before 7am on the southbound stretch of motorway before the Walmsley Rd off-ramp.
Fire, police and ambulance were at the scene, which quickly turned into a traffic nightmare on the vital link to the airport.
While the damaged vehicles have long since been moved off the motorway, traffic remains heavy.
The motorway was at one stage banked up to Maioro St at the start of the motorway and spilling on to major arterial suburban streets.
Labour's Mt Roskill candidate Michael Wood tweeted the bus he was in was stuck in traffic on Hillsborough Rd. He said this was a perfect example why the airport lightrail was needed.
At least one lane was blocked by the crash with roads slippery from surface flooding.
Police said the motorway was blocked by the crash and people travelling to the airport were likely to be affected.
Motorists were asked to avoid travelling on the motorway if possible or be patient if they were caught up in the heavy traffic.
Long queues formed in all lanes banking up across Mangere Bridge.
Meanwhile another crash on the Northwestern Motorway was also causing delays for traffic on Royal Rd at the top of eastbound on-ramp.
A third crash was expected to cause problems for people heading to work on the Northern Motorway with the right lane blocked before Greville Rd.
Although both crashes were no longer blocking the motorways, authorities warned motorists to expect delays.
Today was proving particularly trying for motorists travelling across the city as they encountered heavier-than-usual traffic.
- NZ Herald