Holidaymakers trying to head north out of Auckland were stuck as the Harbour Bridge was closed for nearly an hour on Wednesday afternoon.

Police closed the northbound lanes to attend what they termed an "incident" around 5.30pm - a man climbed on top of a bridge sign gantry above the northern lanes on the North Shore side of the bridge.

Shortly after, police then also closed the southern lanes.

CALLIOPE RYDER/TWITTER Cars were backed up as far back as the Victoria Street tunnel.

Traffic became backed up through the Victoria Park tunnel, with motorists in the tunnel told to turn off their engines. Many got out of their cars and leaned against the tunnel walls.

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NZTA Traffic cameras from Esmonde St on the North Shore showed traffic still at a total standstill as of 6.25pm.

The bridge reopened at 6.10pm with traffic once more "flowing" in both directions and the man brought down to safety by fire crews.

A police spokeswoman said police were not intending to press charges at this time.

Heavy congestion on northern and southern routes out of Auckland was already causing significant delays for travellers as they flee New Zealand's largest city for the holidays.

NZTA Motorists were advised to use State Highway 16 rather than the congested State Highway 1 route north.

Harbour Bridge traffic northbound is completely stopped. There’s a guy that has climbed up onto the overhead signs. — Cam Parker (@CamParker) December 27, 2017

A Fire and Emergency spokesman said they were on the scene of the bridge disruption with a "pump and an aerial appliance" to assist police.

Motorist Cam Parker gave a commentary of the incident on Twitter as fire crews attempted to bring the man down.

NZTA State Highway 1 through Puhoi faced signficant bumper-to-bumper traffic earlier today.

Police were allowing some cars through and Parker was one who was waved through, he wrote on Twitter.

Traffic at standstill on southern end of Auckland Harbour Bridge northbound, two fire engines and traffic management flown past within last 5min @NZTAAkl pic.twitter.com/PbuQSX2pK2 — Luke Kirkness (@LukeKirkness) December 27, 2017

Commuters were advised to use the northwestern motorway and avoid the bridge if possible.

The NZTA had earlier tweeted that Auckland was a "#HolidayGhostTown" after traffic cameras showed largely empty roads during the city's peak commuter time of 8am.

SH1 NORTHERN MWY, SOUTHBOUND - DELAYS - 9:40AM



An earlier crash, southbound on the Northern Mwy, is clear of all lanes however #AklTraffic remains slow & heavy from Esmonde Rd to the AKL Hbr Bridge. Allow extra time. ^TP pic.twitter.com/p9umHO1bRp — NZTA Akld & Nthlnd (@NZTAAkl) December 26, 2017

The commuter rush had instead turned into a holiday rush with cars stacked bumper-to-bumper on main highways to the north and south out of the city from 9am onwards.

Holiday traffic is heavy northbound on #SH1 thru Puhoi, Warkworth & Wellsford areas. Please consider using #SH16 as a faster alternative route. ^TP pic.twitter.com/WwN4Ll9UWN

— NZTA Akld & Nthlnd (@NZTAAkl) December 26, 2017

A crash on the southbound portion of Auckland's northern motorway added to congestion woes in the morning with a queue of cars forming from Onewa Rd to the Harbour Bridge.

Are you stuck in the traffic jam madness? Send us your pics or videos (but not if you're driving) to newstips@stuff.co.nz

NZTA advised motorists to consider using State Highway 16 to move northwards after commuters on the section of State Highway 1 stretching through Puhoi, Warkworth and Wellsford faced significant delays.

#AklTraffic not even close to heavy in any of the usual places so far this morning peak (as at 8am). #HolidayGhostTown ^TP pic.twitter.com/BCnUhFOTQK — NZTA Akld & Nthlnd (@NZTAAkl) December 26, 2017

Traffic between Manukau and Takanini on the southern motorway also reached what was expected to be its heaviest period from 9.30am with congestion expected to ease after 3.30pm.

Another southern route, State Highway 2 east of Pokeno, popular with tourists travelling to the Coromandel was expected to remain congested for most of the day, according to NZTA.

Holiday traffic is now heavy northbound on SH1 thru Puhoi, Warkworth & Wellsford areas. Please consider using SH16 as a faster, alternative route. ^TP pic.twitter.com/uYCcntorUN — NZTA Akld & Nthlnd (@NZTAAkl) December 26, 2017

Meanwhile in Wellington, traffic is backing up on State Highway 1 on the Kapiti Coast as holiday makers leave the city.

The New Zealand Transport Authority is warning travellers to expect delays of up to 75 minutes with traffic particularly heavy in northbound lanes through Paekākāriki, and between Peka Peka and Ōtaki. The heavy traffic is expected to last until about 5:30pm.