Hundreds of vehicles have been left with flat tyres after sharp metal debris spilled from a truck and spread across a 30km stretch of a busy motorway into Sydney.
Police were called to the southbound M1 between Wyong Road and Mount White on the Central Coast about 5.10am on Friday “due to a large amount of metal debris on the roadway”, New South Wales police said in a statement.
Up to 750kg of finely ground steel debris from the back of a truck was spread over 30km, Howard Collins from Transport for NSW told a press conference on Friday.
“It’s unprecedented.”
The tyres of more than 300 vehicles were damaged, he said.. Many of the vehicles were stopped in the breakdown lane.
The shards of metal were “quite small”, the NSW roads minister, Jenny Aitchison, said at a press conference. “They get in the tyres and are letting them down.”
Damage largely consisted of damage to rims and tyres, with some vehicles having all four tyres affected, police said at a press conference.
Motorists were affected by the metal shards in “quite dangerous” conditions, the spokesperson said, noting it was “darkness, with rain falling” when the incident happened.
Dozens of tow trucks had been dispatched to more than 200 drivers, NRMA spokesperson Katrina Usman told AAP.
“Our patrols are able to fix [single punctures] on the side of the road.”
“But for cars with multiple wheels damaged, we’ve provided tows … as of this morning, it was nearly two hours [to wait] for roadside assistance or a tow truck.”
The NSW Rural Fire Service said in a post to social media that “a truck lost a load of scrap metal around 5am this morning”.
Daniel Falconer, of hauler and trucking company NJ Ashton, confirmed the company owned the vehicle on Ben Fordham’s 2GB program on Friday morning.
The debris was called “flock”, Falconer said – small, sharp steel that “when it comes out, it is puncturing the tyres”.
“It is a mechanical error of some sort, we don’t know exactly how it has come out the back of the truck,” he said. “It’s been seeping out, by the looks of it, over a couple of kilometres.
“The same truck has been doing the same run for three or four weeks and we haven’t had a problem.”
The driver had “absolutely no idea” the metal was spilling. Falconer said the pins on the back of the truck were locked.
“When the police turned up, they confirmed that they were locked firm. So it’s just coming out somehow, we’re not 100% sure, but we’ll have to investigate the whole thing.
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“We are very, very sorry for what has happened.”
Falconer said the fleet was regularly serviced and maintained. He confirmed the company’s insurance would cover costs.
“Our immediate priority is helping with the cleanup,” Falconer said in the statement.
“As soon as we were notified about the accident, we sent every qualified mechanic we have to assist authorities and help get drivers back on the road.”
Heavy vehicle inspectors, tow trucks and sweepers joined emergency services and Transport NSW at the scene, according to Live Traffic NSW.
“It’s not just a case of getting a road sweeper out or guys and girls with brooms,” Collins said. “We are using some magnetic devices. We are removing embedded metal in the highway itself. This takes a long time.”
Southbound lanes of the M1 between Wyong Road, Tuggerah and the Calga Interchange were closed, and diversions were in place. Police urged motorists to allow “plenty of extra travel time” in the area.
Traffic was slow moving, Collins said, warning to stay away from the motorway. He also urged motorists check their tyres for damage.
He said there will be no charge for vehicles towed.
“It is important that we support those motorists who suffered multiple tyre failures.”
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