Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is urging caution on the roads as heavy rain and wind watches are in place for the region tomorrow.

A strong wind watch is in effect for the Auckland Harbour Bridge from 12pm Tuesday until 4am Wednesday, triggering an amber alert and a possible red alert.

Under an amber alert, speeds are reduced and lanes may close. Under a red alert, all lanes on the bridge are closed.

Heavy rain is also expected from 6pm tomorrow until 7am Wednesday which could result in surface flooding.

Motorists are urged to drive to the conditions, look out for the electronic message boards which will indicate lane closures and reduced speeds, or full bridge closure, and stay within their lane while travelling across the bridge.

Drivers of high sided vehicles and motorcyclists are advised to avoid the Auckland Harbour Bridge and use the western ring route on State Highways 16 and 18.

Waka Kotahi is working closely with Metservice to monitor wind speeds with maintenance crews out on the network ready to react and close lanes on the bridge if wind gusts exceed threshold levels. The safety of road users is our top priority and we won’t hesitate to reduce speeds, close lanes or close the bridge if necessary.

Waka Kotahi is providing regular updates to the public as the severe weather continues to affect Aotearoa this week. Our Journey Planner page is updated by our traffic operations centres 24/7 to provide the latest available information on state highway closures and disruptions. Remember to refresh the page when checking the status of highways to ensure the latest updates are displayed.

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