Congestion-busting measures tested during peak hour prang

Find out how the State Government’s new rapid response tow trucks and traffic flow measures responded to a peak hour crash

A crash on Bridge on Thursday morning caused congestion throughout Hobart. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

A five-vehicle pile-up on the Tasman Bridge sparked traffic chaos during morning peak hour on Thursday, giving a new fleet of rapid response tow trucks a stern first test.

The initiative was rolled out by the State Government this month as a congestion-busting measure, with tow trucks stationed at either end of the bridge to respond to such incidents.

The crash was reported to police at 8.48am and police notified at 9.24am that the crash scene had been cleared.

But severe traffic disruptions continued, with a photograph taken at 9.47am showing gridlock on the approach to the Tasman Bridge.

Outbound vehicles were brought to a standstill because Eastern-bound traffic was restricted to one lane.

“City outbound is a car park,’’ one driver observed.

Another driver, Trish Beck, was driving to the airport to drop a family member off for a flight to Brisbane when she was inconvenienced by the traffic chaos.

Traffic had already slowed to a crawl by the time she neared City Hall, but she was able to detour to get onto the Brooker Hwy and to the airport via the Bowen Bridge.

The trip from Hobart to the airport eventually took 45 minutes, far longer than she had allowed.

Mrs Beck feared her relative would miss their Jetstar flight. Luckily, even though they arrived 10 minutes after the close of check in, they were allowed to fly.

No serious injuries were reported from the crash, but one patient was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital in a stable condition.

Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson said the crash was an example of why the government had invested in the new fleet of tow trucks which can be on scene within a matter of minutes.

“Through the increased capability of these trucks, and the ability to tow two cars at once, I’m advised the affected vehicles were able to be cleared this morning within 35 minutes of the crash taking place, a massive achievement during peak hour traffic and much quicker than has ever happened before,’’ he said.