Holiday traffic and roadworks cause 22km tailback

Holiday-makers heading home yesterday combined with multiple roadworks created a long trail of traffic snaking up to 22 kilometres.

At one point, in the middle of the afternoon, there were reports of nose-to-tail traffic all the way from Whangarei to Mata.

One motorist on her way to a family wedding in Waipu said it took an hour to travel from the Portland turn-off to the service station at Oakleigh.

"We are travelling at walking pace," she said.

"It's an outdoor wedding so hopefully we wont be constricted by a time schedule ...

The wedding was due to start at 3pm, but the woman said they had only just gone past the service station.

She had the MC in the car and there were more guests all stuck in the traffic queue. They had been contacting each other via phone, she said.

Police urged motorists to be patient and said this weekend could also be busy with more traffic heading home.

Inspector Murray Hodson said a majority of holiday makers were travelling home yesterday and he anticipated the traffic flows would be heavy.

"Drivers should keep their distances and take a break after two hours when fatigue sets in," Mr Hodson said.

He said any incidents of bad driving could be reported to police on *555.

Meanwhile, motorists can expect delays to continue on state highways north of Whangarei until the end of January.

The New Zealand Transport Authority are back in full swing rebuilding the road after rain delayed work before Christmas.

The impacted spots include Puketi Road to Settlers Way and Whananaki North Road to King Street on State Highway One, Maungaturoto West Road on State Highway 12, and Bob Taylor Road on State Highway 14.

For more information visit the New Zealand Transport Authority's Summer Seasons website.

If you make the same trip daily the On the Move website offers real-time state highway travel information.