Auckland’s motorways are predictably slow as rain, crashes and a long weekend have caused gridlock.
The Queen’s Birthday long weekend has led to the predictable motorist efflux to holiday destinations around the upper North Island.
Jason Dorday/Stuff
Auckland’s motorways are really slow as motorists escape the city for the weekend.
It is currently an hour thirty-seven-minute drive from Auckland’s CBD to the Coromandel turnoff at Pōkeno, and an hour twenty-five-minute drive to Warkworth.
Multiple crashes have slowed down the already congested motorway network that has been slowed down further by rain.
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One crash is blocking the exit-only lane to Khyber Pass on the northbound side of State Highway One right in the centre of the city.
A diesel spill has closed the southbound on-ramp to State Highway One at Ellerslie’s Tecoma Street.
Ricky Wilson/Stuff
Motorists can expect an hour-and-a-half trip from the CBD to Pōkeno.
Another crash in Tuakau has led to six people, five in moderate condition and one in minor condition, to be taken to Middlemore Hospital.
The left-hand lane on State Highway 20 is currently blocked adjacent to the Hillsborough Road on-ramp as crews clean the lane. Waka Kotahi said motorists should expect thirty-minute delays southbound from the Waterview Tunnel.
At 3pm, a crash blocked the right-hand lane on State Highway 1 near the Mt Wellington off-ramp, the crash is now fully cleared but delays remain.
Metservice said 3.2mm of rain has fallen in Auckland Friday with another 0.4mm expected to fall, although the chance of thunderstorms has passed.
Wind is turning southwesterly Friday evening but expected to stay below 20kph.
Saturday’s weather for Auckland is partly cloudy with isolated showers, more frequent in the evening north of Whangaparaoa. Light winds, then northeasterlies developing in the evening, Metservice said.
