Truck driver killed in SH20 crash

The fatal rubbish-truck crash about 4.20pm blocked the Southwestern Motorway in both directions. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Motorway mayhem in Auckland rush hour after accident kills rubbish-truck driver.

Traffic was halted in both directions on Auckland's Southwestern Motorway yesterday during rush hour traffic after a fatal truck crash.

The incident happened on State Highway 20 (SH20) between the Dominion Road on-ramp and the Hillsborough Road off-ramp.

Police said the driver of a commercial rubbish truck, travelling south, lost control and rolled a number of times causing a significant amount of debris to spread over both the north-bound and south-bound lanes.

The truck driver was the only fatality and police said no personal details would be released until his family members had been contacted.

The closure of the stretch of motorway where the incident occurred resulted in major traffic jams.

Traffic heading from the airport was backed up to about Massey Rd. South-bound traffic faced delays on Hillsborough, Queenstown and Mt Albert Rds.

The motorway was finally reopened after 9pm.

Police Serious Crash Unit and the Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit will investigate the crash.