Live: tourists warn to prepare for queues on the way home

Traffic is at a snail’s pace in the direction of Auckland, increasing by nearly 12 km this afternoon along a section of the main state road.

Further south, a serious accident temporarily closed the main road through Levin.

It runs end-to-end on various sections of SH1 between Topuni and Wellsford, through the Warkworth bottleneck and the North Highway into Auckland.

The longest queue affects a stretch of road between Topuni and Wellsford, and motorists face a slow and congested race of at least 12km.

Tourists returning from the long weekend are cautioned to wait in lines for the remainder of the afternoon while traveling home.

Earlier today, the New Zealand Transportation Agency reminded motorists to allow extra time on the road to return to major hubs today at either end of the North Island.

A serious accident on SH1 near Avenue North Rd closed the freeway just before 2 p.m. Motorists passing through the area were asked to follow the instructions of emergency services and were warned of delays.

Traffic is expected to be exceptionally heavy during the day on State Highway 1 in Kakakawa in the Bay of Islands to the south and through Kāpiti traveling between Peka Peka and Ōtaki.

The heaviest traffic in the north is expected between 10 a.m. M. And the 1 p. M., Y is busy between 1 and 6 p.m. M. Today.

At the other end of the island, traffic is expected to be congested between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

The holiday road toll is currently six, five more than last year and the worst since 2017.