A railway crossing malfunction where the barrier arms stayed down with no train in sight caused traffic chaos in Tauranga.
At peak commute hour, around 4.50pm, police were alerted to the malfunctioning barriers on the State Highway 29a crossing, near Baypark.
A police spokeswoman said police were told the barriers had been down for at least ten minutes with no trains going past.
It held up two lanes of traffic back to Welcome Bay area.
"We sent police along and notified Kiwirail and train control."