A truck fire is blocking State Highway 5 at Fairy Springs, Rotorua, this morning.
Emergency services were alerted to a bitumen tanker leaking between Henderson Road and Fairy Springs Road about 6am.
The tanker has since caught fire, resulting in the road being closed. The section of highway is likely to be shut for the next two hours.
Motorists should expect lengthy delays. Northbound traffic is being diverted around the lake or Paradise Valley, while southbound diversions are likely to take traffic through Ngongotaha Valley.
Police warn that neither route is accessible to heavy vehicles.
Motorists can check the latest road conditions on NZTA’s Journey Planner website: https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/.
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre