20 February 2024
By Hannah Wilcox
A sensitive police operation on the Harbour Bridge caused chaos for morning commuters with lengthy traffic delays stretching back kilometres in every direction.
As of 7am on Tuesday, one southbound lane and one northbound lane were closed with the operation requiring a significant ambulance and police response.
All lanes have now reopened as at 11am and the operation has concluded, a NSW Police spokesperson confirmed.
It is believed to have been a self-harm incident that caused the delay, Daily Mail Australia reported.
‘The man is speaking with officers,’ the spokesperson said.
Traffic has remained banked up around Sydney, recording more than 8 kilometres past the Anzac Bridge to Lilyfield and more than 16 kilometres to the Lane Cove Tunnel.
Commuters are recommended to use Victoria Road or the Sydney Harbour Tunnel instead.
Those travelling on buses and trains across the bridge also experienced delays.
It came after severe storms on Monday afternoon caused a long outage on the T1 North Shore and Western Line after lightning damaged signalling equipment at Milsons Point.
Commuters were diverted to replacement bus services but many were left stranded in winding queues and forced to find alternate travel options.
75,000 lightning strikes and 27mm of rain reportedly fell in the three hours from 10am.
There are concerns further delays are imminent with similar weather patterns set to lash parts of the coast in the late morning to early afternoon on Tuesday.
The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted up to 30mm of possible rainfall.
“Thunderstorms are possible in the state’s east. Some areas along the coast and ranges may experience severe storms, with a risk of localised heavy falls and flash flooding,” it posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday morning.
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