Truck fire on uptrack of South-Eastern Freeway causes traffic delays

At 4.57pm on Tuesday, news broke of a truck fire on the South-Eastern Freeway. And so ensued the all-too familiar homeward crawl for thousands of Hills commuters. What can be done to limit the impact of frequent truck breakdowns? Let us know.

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A peak-hour truck fire on the South-Eastern Freeway backed traffic up for hours over several kilometres on Tuesday.

The uptrack freeway was blocked completely then had lane restrictions in place until about 9pm around the incident site, just before the Heysen Tunnels.

Traffic was backed up as far down as the Portrush Rd intersection and commuters reported adding more than an hour to their commute.

A truck caught fire on the freeway uptrack, causing considerable delays. Picture: Dixie Sulda.

Traffic was banked up a long way down the freeway. Picture: Dixie Sulda

Eight firefighters tackled the burning truck and the site was completely cleared overnight.

A police spokesman said the driver had been treated for smoke inhalation.

The incident has highlighted once again the issue of trucks breaking down on the freeway and safety concerns around gridlocked traffic during bushfire season. Let us know what you think should be done in the comments box below.

The truck fire was extinguished but traffic was delayed for some time. Picture: Tim Adey-Wakeling

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