Western Bay of Plenty police say rescue teams are struggling to salvage a large truck and trailer unit that crashed off State Highway 2, just south of Te Puke, early Friday morning.
Senior sergeant Ian Campion says the salvage effort is causing heavy traffic delays in both directions on State Highway 2 near the crash site.

Police have reduced State Highway 2 to one lane near the crash scene.

The highway near the scene is reduced to one lane and police are alternating traffic flows.
Inroads is coordinating the scene, but police are at the scene assisting.
"They did not expect to have that much traffic," says Ian.
He estimates it could take up to an hour to remove the truck and trailer unit.
SunLive reader Jonathan York says his wife has called him while attempting to drive to Whakatane from Tauranga. He says she left Tauranga at 1.30pm and called him at 2.15pm to say she was stuck in traffic on the near side of Te Puke. She called him again at 2.55pm to say she was in Te Puke, but going nowhere fast.