Auckland motorists had to spend up to seven times longer in traffic than normal yesterday after four lanes in the Auckland Harbour Bridge were closed following crashes

The Automobile Association says that included a trip from Albany into the city's central business district taking between 50-and-70 minutes yesterday afternoon compared with a normal 12 minute off-peak commute.

Peak hour trips lasted even longer with motorists taking one hour to drive three blocks from the top of Nelson Street to the Victoria Street intersection in the city centre.

National leader Judith Collins seized on the chaos with a promise to build a rail and road tunnel under the harbour to provide a second crossing.