Harbour Bridge crash triggers widespread delays and chaos across city

A Harbour Bridge crash led to chaos with queues stretching kilometres and a flow-on effect impacting rail and bus networks. It led to a call for a toll free day to those impacted. Take our poll.

Emergency services work to assist a woman trapped inside a vehicle in the crash on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Picture: Christian Gilles

A crash on the Sydney Harbour Bridge caused peak-hour commuter chaos not just on the bridge itself, but across the city’s wider road and transport network.

A four-car crash on the bridge about 8am Wednesday led to heavy congestion in all directions, forcing major delays on bus routes and sparking a surge in public transport use as commuters scrambled for other options.

One person is being treated by paramedics after being freed from a pileup on the Harbour Bridge.

Police were told two vehicles collided head on before crashing into two other cars.

Two lanes were closed in both directions from around 8am to just before 10am, forcing peak-hour commuters to divert or sit in standstill traffic across key arterial roads.

While all lanes have now reopened and traffic conditions have eased, the disruption earlier in the morning left a significant mark on the commute for thousands of Sydneysiders.

Buses across the North Shore and Northern Beaches were delayed by up to 40 minutes, with some services forced to divert to North Sydney. That left Miller Street gridlocked, packed with double-decker B-Line services and local buses struggling to move through the area.

Commuters switching from bus to train or Metro services faced more bottlenecks. At Victoria Cross station, the line to enter stretched hundreds of metres down Miller Street as passengers waited to board services into the city.

Horror crash on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Picture: Christian Gilles

Jay, a motorist who was stuck on the bridge on Wednesday morning, said he was stuck for almost two hours.

“I’ve been stuck on the Cahill Expressway for the last hour and a half busting to go to the toilet,” he told 2GB.

“Don’t you think it’s about time they put a bloody divider in the middle of that thing?

Crash on the Sydney Harbour Bridge: Picture: 7NEWS

Haven’t we learned by now — every time there’s a crash on the Harbour Bridge, the whole of Sydney comes to a standstill all day.”

A Transport NSW spokesman said as of 9.51am all lanes were reopened, but warned motorists to “expect delays”.

“During the incident, we did have buses diverting but everything has returned to normal, expect heavy traffic and delays.

“We had advised commuters take public transport earlier but there are no longer any transport warnings current.”

NSW Shadow Treasurer Damien Tudehope suggested a toll-free day on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

A car also broke down further north of the crash on the Bradfield Highway, but the spokesman said it was an unrelated incident that is no longer affecting the scale of the delays.

Citybound traffic was earlier banked up across the lower north shore, stretching back to Artarmon on the M1 and Mosman on Military Road.

Bus passengers leaving a diverted city-bound northern beaches B-Line bus at Victoria Cross Metro station. Picture: Harrison Finlay

Northbound congestionreached past the Anzac Bridge and onto the City West Link.

From the south, traffic was queued along City West Link at Lilyfield and Victoria Road through Drummoyne, while the Gore Hill Freeway from Artarmon to the Harbour Bridge remained heavily delayed throughout the morning peak.

Emergency services at the crash on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Picture: Christian Gilles

Acting Opposition Leader Damien Tudehope floated the idea of a toll-free day on the Sydney Harbour Bridge as a gesture of relief for motorists caught in major traffic incidents.

However, Tudehope dismissed the idea of installing permanent barriers on the Harbour Bridge, calling it impractical given the lane changes required for peak-hour traffic.
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Originally published as Harbour Bridge crash triggers widespread delays and chaos across city