5.54pm update: SYDNEY'S CBD has been thrown into traffic chaos after a crane fire and job collapse in Ultimo this morning.

Motorists are facing extensive delays across Sydney, compounded by the breakdown of three city buses earlier in the day.

Transport Management Centre spokesman David Wright said traffic flow in Sydney's CBD "started to go pear shaped'' when three State Transit buses broke down on Clarence St, Erskine St and Druitt St about 8am.

He said city-bound buses were delayed by up to an hour.

"That's when it all started to go pear shaped,'' Mr Wright said. "We were still dealing with the fall out of that when the crane fire which blocked Broadway which exacerbated those delays.''



The Transport Management Centre said road closures in the city and Ultimo near Broadway have caused massive delays, advising advised motorists to use the following routes:

- Exit the CBD via the Anzac Bridge using Pyrmont Bridge Road and Market Street;

- Access the Sydney Harbour Bridge via Harbour Street, Macquarie Street, Eastern Distributor or Cross City Tunnel.

- Bus passengers can use their bus ticket for travel on Sydney Ferries and CityRail trains across the entire Sydney metropolitan area.

Across Sydney, Henry Lawson Dr is blocked southbound at Georges Hall following a multiple vehicle accident near Beale St, with traffic diverted into Georges Cr and Haig St.

In St Ives, traffic lights are blacked out on Mona Vale Rd at Link Rd after a truck brought down power lines, causing traffic bedlam and significant delays.

A car and motorbike crash on the Princes Highway near Engadine Ave in Engadine has brought southbound traffic to a standstill, with queues stretching back to Old Bush Rd.

South bound traffic has eased on Lane Cove Rd at at Riverside Dr after an earlier truck breakdown.



Twenty workmen ran for their lives after the crane crashed into the University of Technology Sydney.

The fire and collapse brought traffic to a standstill at UTS just after 10am when the city’s Parramatta Rd at Broadway was closed for hours.



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Even after the road was reopened, traffic was chaotic, with many motorists slowing as they drove past the scene.

Angry construction workers said they had walked off the job three weeks ago with safety concerns about the crane claiming it was dripping diesel.

"We asked for something to be done about it but nothing was done," union state secretary Brian Parker said.

A 20 metre boom crashed into the building earlier this morning. The crane is the biggest industrial crane in Sydney's city.

The workmen were working on the building when the crane exploded into flames.

"The crane was in the air and you just heard the cable snap one by one," a witness told the Daily Telegraph.

"The crane then crashed into the building which the guys were working on."

100 people were evacuated from the site and another hundred were evacuated from the area. Emergency crew members said the position where the crane crashed is making it stable.

A workman has been injured after he was hit on the shoulder by one of the snapped metal cables.

The crane driver ran down from the cabin just 10 minutes before the crane was engulfed by flames.

Earlier, eight fire crews raced to Broadway following reports a high crane inside a construction site opposite the university just after 10am.

About 1000 litres of diesel which powers the generator sparking the fire caused the cables to snap.

About 20 firefighters who attempted to climb the boom to extinguish the flames quickly ran down from the unsafe crane and instead allowed the fire to extinguish itself.

At 11am, smoke was still issuing from the crane deck but the flames have since subsided.

The top of the crane was on fire and the flames were clearly visible from the ground.

"It has the potential to be quite a large fire because of building material nearby,'' a NSW Fire Brigade spokesman.

media_camera Traffic chaos: Red indicates heavy traffic.

Sydney's CBD has been thrown into traffic chaos following the crane fire. Three buses broke down in the city blocking main streets, a truck blocked main roads in Auburn and a horse strayed across the M4.

The breakdown of three buses on clogged city streets this morning has gridlocked large parts of the CBD, causing delays of more than an hour.

State Transit buses entering Sydney's CBD from across the Harbour Bridge are being diverted to North Sydney station, while traffic entering the city across Anzac Bridge is also affected.

Around Wynyard Station, Clarence Street and Erskine Street were closed for parts of peak hour after buses struck mechanical failures.

Keep up to date on the latest bus cancellations and diversions here.

Originally published as Crane fire at UTS sparks traffic chaos