Hours-long traffic delays in Melbourne's west as road crews inspect damage to the Princes Freeway
Authorities are investigating whether a damaged roadway caused a truck rollover that resulted in extensive traffic delays throughout the morning peak, west of Melbourne.
Aerial footage shows a large gap in the road surface where the freeway meets a bridge, with large metal spikes protruding from both sides.
About 10 cars have also been damaged in the incident that has closed all Melbourne-bound lanes of the Princes Freeway near the Werribee Zoo between the Princes Highway and Duncans Road, causing an 8-kilometre-long traffic jam.
At one stage, the morning commute stretched almost three hours longer than usual for workers and other drivers coming in from Geelong and the major growth suburbs to the west.
The incident also caused significant congestion through Werribee.
The Department of Transport urged people needing to get into the city to detour through Bacchus Marsh and the Western Freeway or, where possible, to take a V/Line train instead of their car.
"We ask drivers to be patient and mindful of local traffic when detouring through Werribee, and to obey all local speed limits," a spokesperson said.
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