Commuters faced motorway mayhem in Auckland

Commuters face traffic jams north of the Harbour Bridge after a crash at the base of the bridge. Photo / Michael Craig

Morning commuters faced motorway mayhem in Auckland after a series of breakdowns and accidents.

Soon after 6am, a crash blocked the centre lane on the Northern Motorway at the base of the Harbour Bridge city-bound.

The mess was cleaned up soon after, but the New Zealand Transport Agency said traffic stayed in slug mode from the Harbour Bridge all the way back to Northcote Rd.

Soon after, the Southern Motorway was jammed from Mt Wellington to Ellerslie after a breakdown in the left lane.

Then, northern motorists again felt the pain after a nose-to-tail between a small car and van on the Onewa Rd onramp to the Northern Motorway caused delays.

Traffic clogged up around the North Shore as rubberneckers crawled slowly past police cars.

For good measure, by 7.15am the North-Western motorway experienced congestion too.

Around that time, the trip from Royal Rd to the city was taking about 40 minutes.

Even a dog was briefly spotted on the North-Western motorway too but police said the canine was moved on by 8.30am, when traffic was still moving relatively slowly but most of the morning drama appeared to have abated.