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Sydney commuters have been hit by hours-long delays after the discovery of a faulty fan inside the M5 tunnel overnight triggered emergency works on Wednesday morning, closing the motorway in the city direction.
Motorway operator Transurban was conducting routine works in the early hours of Wednesday when workers discovered safety problems with a fan inside the tunnel, closing eastbound traffic and causing massive delays for motorists travelling towards the city.
There is no clear end to the traffic chaos despite operators working to solve the problem inside the tunnel. A 13-kilometre queue along the M5 has developed.
Transport for NSW coordinator-general Howard Collins estimated motorists could face several hours of delays due to the emergency works, and he urged commuters to avoid the motorway “at all costs”.
The agency has advised motorists to use alternate routes to travel into the city, and plan extra time for the commute. Alternate routes include the M8 motorway and a diversion route sign-posted by the M5.
Transurban general manager Denise Kelly told ABC Sydney radio her team was “working very hard” to reopen the motorway by the afternoon. She defended the decision to remove the malfunctioning fan immediately, rather than during a period of off-peak traffic.
“We discovered we’d rather remove it now in order to avoid any issues with that faulty fan, we don’t want issues caused by that faulty fan … don’t want it happening again,” she said.
More to come
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Daniel Lo Surdo is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously helmed the national news live blog for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.From our partners
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