Wgtn motorway: Truck cleared but expect hour delays

A truck which has lost its trailer after its axle broke has been cleared from a Wellington motorway but there is heavy congestion, the Transport Agency says.

The truck, towing a trailer, came a halt in the Ngauranga Gorge and the accident led to major delays in southboard traffic on State Highway 1 into Wellington this morning.

The agency said there was a queue back to the Churton Park offramp this afternoon, and there would be hour-long delays on top of the usual travel time.

NZTA spokesperson Andy Knackstedt said a crane was only brought in after the morning peak traffic had cleared.

RNZ has asked the Transport Agency (NZTA) if there is any connection between the steel axle failure in this truck and structural steel failures in the connections between truck cabs and trailers RNZ has reported on this week.

NZTA said it and the police Commercial Vehicle Safety Team "will be inspecting the truck and trailer unit".

"Until that inspection has been carried out it's too early to provide any comment on what may have caused the trailer to separate from the truck."