UPDATE
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4.30pm: Looking for the best way to get home amid the traffic chaos?
The truck stuck under the University Avenue overpass on the M1 Princes Motorway at Gwynneville is causing heavy traffic around the city with 7km queues on the motorway.
Southbound motorists in light vehicles are being diverted off the motorway at Bulli Pass and can use the Princes Highway and Memorial Drive to get back to the M1.
Traffic along Memorial Drive is heavy.
Alternative routes suggested here
EARLIER
The M1 Princes Motorway remains closed in both directions at Gwynneville after an overheight truck hit the overpass at University Avenue.
Southbound light vehicles are now being diverted away from the M1 at Bulli Pass and should use Memorial Drive to rejoin the motorway south of the incident.
Motorists joining the M1 southbound from Picton Road should travel down Mount Ousley and exit at the University Avenue off-ramp, to rejoin the motorway on the other side of the incident.
Northbound light vehicles are still being diverted from the M1 at Memorial Drive to continue north to Bulli Pass.
Heavy vehicles in both directions are using Memorial Drive and Mount Ousley Road.
Traffic is heavy so motorists have been told to continue to allow plenty of extra travel time. Delays of about 40 minutes are currently being experienced.
Emergency services, traffic crews and an engineer remain at the site of the incident.
The motorway is expected to remain closed for some time.
3pm: Delays of about 40 minutes are being experienced on the M1 Princes Motorway at Gwynneville – and on surrounding roads – as motorists are diverted away from a truck wedged underneath the University Avenue overpass.
Authorities are working to determine the extent of the damage caused to the bridge, which was struck by a truck carrying mining/construction equipment about 12.15pm on Tuesday.
The truck was travelling in the left lane when it hit the overpass. The equipment and trailer became wedged between the bridge and the road.
According to police, the force of the impact resulted in the trailer and equipment being embedded into the concrete of the overpass.
No one was injured.
The NSW Transport Management Centre has warned motorists to allow an extra 30 minutes of travel time in the area.
The M1 remains closed in both directions. The University Avenue overpass is also closed to traffic as engineers work to determine the bridge’s structural integrity.
The following diversions are expected to remain in place for a number of hours:
- All southbound motorists are being diverted onto the University Avenue off-ramp and can then use the on-ramp to rejoin the motorway.
- Northbound light vehicles are being diverted onto Memorial Drive and the Princes Highway and can rejoin the motorway at Bulli Pass.
- Northbound heavy vehicles are being diverted onto Memorial Drive and Mount Ousley Road to return to the motorway.
2pm: The M1 Princes Motorway remains closed in both directions after an overheight truck slammed into the University Avenue overpass at Gwynneville on Tuesday afternoon.
Motorists have been warned to expect delays, with diversions expected to remain in place for some time.
- All southbound motorists are being diverted onto the University Avenue off-ramp and can then use the on-ramp to rejoin the motorway.
- Northbound light vehicles are being diverted onto Memorial Drive and the Princes Highway and can rejoin the motorway at Bulli Pass.
- Northbound heavy vehicles are being diverted onto Memorial Drive and Mount Ousley Road to return to the motorway.
Delays of up to 20 minutes are currently being experienced, according to the NSW Transport Management Centre.
Wollongong police have urged motorists to avoid the area.
“It is estimated that this incident will be ongoing for a significant length of time and possibility into the evening and night,” a post on the Wollongong Police District Facebook page said.
Route 887 buses are not stopping at the University of Wollongong and are diverting away from the Princes Motorway via Mount Ousley Road.
12.40pm: An overheight truck has closed the M1 Princes Motorway in both directions after it struck the University Avenue overpass at Gwynneville.
The incident happened just before 12.30pm on Tuesday.
Northbound light vehicles are being diverted via Memorial Drive and the Princes Highway to rejoin the motorway via Bulli Pass.
Northbound heavy vehicles are being diverted via Memorial Drive, the Princes Highway and Mount Ousley Road.
All southbound vehicles are exiting the motorway via the University Avenue off-ramp and using the on-ramp to rejoin the road on the other side of the incident.
Emergency services and Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) crews are on the scene.
Southbound traffic approaching the incident is heavy. Northbound motorists are also advised to allow plenty of extra travel time.
Route 887 buses are not stopping at the University of Wollongong and are instead diverting away from the Princes Motorway via Mount Ousley Road.
It’s not the first time a truck has struck the overpass. In April last year, an overheight truck hit its load after trying to pass under the overpass, which has a clearance of 4.6 metres.
In that incident, which was deemed to be minor, the truck was reversed off the motorway and the scene cleared.
In 2015, Roads and Maritime Services spent almost half a million dollars on measures to stop trucks damaging the bridge, including a height detection system to stop heavy vehicles with insufficient clearance from passing underneath.
Meanwhile, a broken down truck has closed one of three northbound lanes on the motorway near the New Mount Pleasant Road overpass.
