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The license plate of a car waiting in traffic described the mood of many motorists leaving the capital on Wednesday.
Significant traffic delays for motorists leaving the capital are not expected to subside until 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, traffic is also starting to increase as people leave Auckland.
On Thursday, the Waka Kotahi NZ Transportation Agency said that due to holiday congestion, northbound road users on State Highway 1 between Te Horo and Ōtaki could expect significant delays.
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The delays are not expected to subside until 8pm.
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* Wellington’s traffic problems ease after a day of congestion
At around 2.30pm Thursday, the agency said congestion was building up on Auckland’s southbound highway between Manukau and Mumbai.
Heavy northbound traffic was also expected from Auckland between Puhoi and Welssford until 4.30pm.
An accident on Hutt Rd in Thorndon, just north of Wellington city center, previously blocked a lane, causing delays.
Three people were taken to Wellington Hospital after the accident around 1:40 p.m.
A spokesperson for Wellington Free Ambulance said one patient was in serious condition, one in moderate condition and one with minor injuries.
NZTA is advising people to use its vacation travel hotspot online tool to determine when and where delays were expected across the state highway network.
The agency previously forecast that northbound traffic on the Kāpiti coast on State Highway 1, between Peka Peka and Ōtaki, would begin to be busy from 9 a.m. and remain busy until 7:30 p.m.
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Dan Corbett offers a summary of what to expect in the weather during the holidays this week.
Traffic is expected to be heaviest between 1 PM and 5:30 PM on Thursday. Heading south, it will be busy between 11 a.m. M. And 5 p.m. M.
State Highway 2 northbound on Remutaka Hill between Wellington and Featherston will be heavily traveled from noon to 3:30 pm. M.
An exodus of vehicles from the capital on Wednesday, coupled with an accident, led to heavy congestion and traffic jams in some areas during the day, with some motorists reporting moving only two kilometers in an hour.
Traffic did not begin to slow until 6.30pm.
Ross Giblin / Stuff
State Highway 1 heading to Te Horo was dragged on Wednesday as tourists began to leave the capital.
A collision on both lanes of SH1 near Ōtaki caused significant delays and prompted police to ask drivers to avoid the area, unless it was urgent.
A motorist said It took two hours to get from the CBD to Paraparaumu, with an hour in slow traffic between the Plimmerton roundabout and Pukerua Bay, a stretch of road that generally takes less than five minutes.
“However, they were all good, very patient, calm and took it easy,” he said.
Another motorist, Liz Hay, said she left the Plimmerton roundabout around 12:45 pm At 2:00 pm they were still “well south of Ōtaki.”
“We are from the South Island and we have never experienced anything like this. Often there are sections where we don’t move at all. “
Greg Halford was also caught in congestion and said that an hour and 45 minutes after leaving Wellington they were still 10 km from Ōtaki.
A CAR
Traffic stopped on State Highway 1 outside the capital on Wednesday.
CHRISTMAS CAPITAL CRISIS
So far there have been two accidents in Wellington on Christmas Eve.
In the first, a person sustained moderate injuries after their car crashed into a power pole on Hampshire St in Cannons Creek, Porirua, around 5.50am.
The power pole was across the street and the police were present around 6:20 a.m. The driver suffered moderate injuries.
The car had to be towed.
In the second accident, a car collided with a barrier on Cuba St in Alicetown, Lower Hutt, shortly after 6 am. There were no injuries or roadblocks in that accident.
