Auckland weather: Rush hour traffic gridlocked on flood-affected roads

Auckland motorways are packed and moving extremely slowly in parts of the city affected by flood damage as school term kicks off in earnest.

Roads around the city continue to recover from being beaten by last week’s extreme weather caused multiple slips, sinkholes, wash-outs and fallen trees.

This morning, the queue from the washout on Great North Rd at Waterview stretched back to Avondale as traffic remains down to one lane travelling past the flood damage.

As of now, the Auckland Transport website shows about 27 roads remain closed or impacted by the recent bad weather.

Tamaki Dr in Ōrākei, the main route along the Eastern Bays, is open to traffic towards the suburbs and alternate Ngapipi Rd is open heading to the city centre.

Both routes are open to one-lane traffic. Shore Rd in Remuera and Kemp Rd in Massey have also reopened.

Roads around East Coast Bays in North Shore are backed up, particularly around Rangitoto College and Takapuna Grammar School.

Lake Rd, Glamorgan Dr and East Coast Rd have slow-moving traffic. Routes heading into Albany from Dairy Flat and Orewa are also busy.

Don Buck Rd in Massey which was severely flooded in the deluge last week is also running slow past Massey High School.

Traffic is backing up on Auckland’s Northern Motorway due to an earlier breakdown, despite it being cleared. The blockage temporarily blocked the right southbound lane between Fanshawe St and Hobson St after the Victoria Park flyover.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency issued an alert advising motorists to expect delays on the motorway from the Harbour Bridge.

UPDATE 8:40AM
This breakdown now fully cleared. Expect delays southbound on #SH1 from the Harbour Bridge to start to ease. ^TP https://t.co/EcEpCauKrC

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) February 6, 2023

School buses are also impacted with alternate stops in place.

Many are impacted in the Waitakere area, Titirangi, Glen Eden and Laingholm; North Shore, Glenvar Rd to Long Bay and Tamaki Dr to Kohimarama.

Yesterday, MetService said it had “all eyes on the islands” as a tropical low that may turn into a cyclone threatened to breach New Zealand’s shores in the coming days.

“If this system does pass close to the North Island, it will be another significant weather event potentially affecting vulnerable areas which are still recovering from recent severe weather.”

A potential cyclone is the last thing Auckland needs as residents across the city continue to clean up after unprecedented rainfall sparked severe flooding that inundated homes, triggered numerous slips and claimed the lives of four people late last month.

Tanaki Drive is now open after a large slip between Okahu Bay and Mission Bay was cleared. Photo / Dean Purcell

Yesterday, Auckland Emergency Management said work continued reconnecting the city after slips and floods impacted roads and a bridge was washed away in Rodney.

AT and contractors aimed to have a new bridge on Mill Flat Rd, near Riverhead, fully open by Wednesday. AEM said it was trying to open the bridge to residents yesterday.

“Be prepared for longer journey times due to more Aucklanders travelling around and the remaining damage to our road and public transport network,” said Auckland Transport’s Darek Koper.

He confirmed that scheduled buses will be operating as usual from today, however, there may be some last-minute cancellations due to the ongoing bus driver shortage.

He advised that people may want to consider walking or biking to school or work, but MetService warns that may not be possible all week as a fresh cyclone threatens to bring more rain to Auckland.

It is expected to hold off today, however, with Auckland likely to see a mainly fine, 24C day with some isolated showers in the west.

MetService meteorologist Jessie Owen said that the upcoming week would bring milder temperatures across the nation and a break from the humid and sticky weather in the north.

However, the finer weather could prove to be brief.

“All eyes are now on the tropics,” MetService said.

A cyclone was likely to develop in the Coral Sea, between New Caledonia and Australia in the Pacific, from a tropical low-pressure system in the next few days.

Windy.com predicts on its website that the storm will likely hit our shores at midnight next Monday, bringing strong gusts up to 50 knots.

Weather forecast chart from Windy.com showing a Tropical Cyclone over the north island of New Zealand at midnight 13/14. Photo / Supplied

Forecaster WeatherWatch said more slips, more flooding and more road closures are inevitable if this storm directly tracks over New Zealand.

“This likely storm has the potential to bring with it 300mm or more to NZ, so that precise tracking - whether it makes landfall or remains out at sea - is even more critical following recent flooding,” WeatherWatch head forecaster Philip Duncan said.

“It is certainly one to closely watch and many will be hoping it remains out at sea, which is a possibility.”

Hauraki Gulf Weather explained the “convective hot towers punching into the stratosphere” were likely to become a tropical cyclone on Wednesday.

The forecaster said it was “still early days and a lot can change” but called current tracking a “concerning trend for the upper North Island”.

The potential tropical cyclone was expected to “possibly [move] towards the far north of New Zealand” at the weekend, MetService said.

The storm could cause strong winds, heavy rain and large swells on the country’s eastern coasts, should it pass nearby.

“It is important to emphasise that the cyclone’s path is still uncertain as the system hasn’t yet developed,” Owen said.

“We will have a much better idea about the path this system will take, and any related severe weather, in another couple of days once it has formed.”