Sydney Harbour Bridge - crash closes five lanes

Five of the eight lanes are blocked after a truck overturned, with traffic restricted to two lanes southbound and one lane northbound.

The garbage truck overturned after it collided with at least one car, where a person remains trapped inside, a police spokeswoman said.

Police and fire vehicles were on the bridge with emergency personnel working to free the person.

All southbound lanes are blocked with one northbound lane open for traffic in that direction and another being used for southbound traffic.

Paramedics were expected to arrive by road but a rescue helicopter was on standby if a medical team had to be transported by air, an ambulance spokeswoman said.

Traffic was stacked up on either side of the bridge as the Monday morning commute began.

Commuters are advised to avoid the Bridge and to use the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and Victoria Road as alternatives.

Commuters should also expect follow-on delays as traffic is diverted, the RTA says.

The accident happened when two cars ran into each other and a garbage truck flipped onto its side while trying to avoid the crash.

RTA spokesman Alec Brown says one northbound lane and two southbound lanes have been reopened, but traffic is already heavy in both directions.

"As we progress throughout the peak, it really does start to build up from here so we'd expect some major delays starting to build up in the morning peak," he said.

He says it will be some time before the bridge is reopened.

Rescue workers are currently trying to clear the truck from the bridge and have managed to get it upright.

A helicopter has been called in to airlift the driver to hospital, a NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said.
She said he was in his 50's and was driving a station wagon.

He is expected to be taken to the northern side of the bridge where the [rescue] helicopter is waiting.