Traffic slow on SH1

Holiday drivers are being urged to be patient, with reports traffic is moving very slowly on State Highway 1 along the Kapiti Coast today.

Both northbound and southbound traffic was slow in areas between Porirua and Levin, police said.

Earlier, emergency services were this morning at a crash on State Highway 2 between Manor Park and Silverstream, north of Wellington. One southbound lane was blocked.

Holiday traffic has been crawling out of Wellington as crashes, bad weather and the sheer volume of vehicles cause mayhem on the roads.

And with some train services replaced by buses – as the ageing rail network gets an upgrade – even more vehicles are on the roads.

Police reported "numerous" calls relating to traffic holdups on Boxing Day and yesterday.

It was a test of patience for motorists over the weekend as getting out of the region took up to three times longer than normal.

A four-car collision at 12.50pm yesterday near Waikanae brought traffic to a standstill. No-one was injured in the nose-to-tail crash but two vehicles had to be towed and the southbound lane was closed to let motorists slowly move north.

Just half an hour earlier, State Highway 1 was brought to a crawl by another four-car crash north of McKays Crossing. One woman was taken to Kenepuru Hospital with whiplash. It took about an hour to clear the crash.

Police spokesman Chris Turner said the sheer volume of traffic as holidaymakers left the capital caused congestion that was exacerbated by heavy rain and minor crashes.

Last night Levin police urged motorists to take care and turn their headlights on, with weather conditions making visibility poor.

On Saturday, work began on an intensive upgrade of the Wellington rail network. Buses will replace some trains until January 6 as KiwiRail staff and contractors "take advantage of the quiet holiday period".

Most of the work will be focused at Wellington railway station, where a third main line is being installed to increase capacity and remove a bottleneck.

- © Fairfax NZ News