Urgent repair work will start on State Highway 1 tonight after a chemical truck caught fire on the motorway early this morning.
Emergency services were called to the scene on the northbound shoulder of the Southern Motorway, just past the Papakura on-ramp, just before 3am.
A police spokesperson said the truck had been "carrying highly flammable gas in canisters, and these have exploded over all of the northbound lanes and into the bush on the side of the road".
Fifteen homes were evacuated as a precaution, with emergency services saying nobody had been injured.
The road will be closed northbound from Takanini to Papakura from 7pm tonight until 5am tomorrow.
In the meantime, a sign-posted detour route will be avalible via Beach Road and Great South Road.
"While we appreciate this is an early closure and will affect motorists travelling home this evening, the extent of damage means we need to start as early as possible to avoid disrupting peak hour traffic tomorrow morning," a spokesperson said.
"Waka Kotahi strongly encourages motorists to avoid travel in this area if they can. If you need to travel, please follow the detour routes and allow plenty of extra travel time."
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