A BROKEN cherry-picker has been blamed for five hours of traffic chaos on the Hexham Bridge.
Southbound lanes on the Pacific Highway were closed to traffic for scheduled roadworks, but when it came time to reopen the lanes for the morning commute on Thursday, April 4, things did not go to plan.
According to a Transport for NSW spokesperson "there was an electrical failure on the elevated work platform which prevented the movement of the platform and pack up of the work site".
As technicians worked to repair the cherry-picker, long queues of traffic began to form on all major roads leading to the bridge including the New England Highway, The Pacific Highway and right back to the M1 Pacific Motorway.
Motorists were warned to avoid the area if possible, but as drivers took an alternative route through Williamtown, two separate crashes including a six-car collision at Fern Bay, saw Nelson Bay Road also come to a standstill.
While the crash sites were cleared quickly by emergency services, the bridge did not reopen to southbound traffic until 10am.
Many motorists reported their morning commute took up to two hours due to the road closures. School buses were trapped in the traffic, while Newcastle Airport released an alert to outbound passengers to allow plenty of extra travel time in order to make their flights.
Angry motorists have taken to social media describing the morning's traffic chaos as a "nightmare", "woeful to drive through" and a "shambles".
The first wave of expected rain also battered down during the morning commute, creating wet conditions for already frustrated drivers and prompting police to remind motorists to "drive to the conditions".
Transport for NSW has since issued a statement on the incident.
"We apologise for the inconvenience and thank motorists impacted for their patience."
