21 Dec 2016

Toppled light stops Wellington traffic

3:39 pm on 21 December 2016

A traffic light that toppled onto a busy Wellington road is being removed and will be replaced by a temporary light.

Traffic lights at a Wellington intersection have toppled onto the road.

The Wellington City Council said it did not yet know what brought the traffic light down. Photo: Supplied: Facebook

The Fire Service discovered the pole leaning over into the road, on the corner of Featherston St and Whitmore St, shortly before 11am.

The Wellington City Council said it did not yet know what brought the pole down, but it seemed no car was involved.

It said it snapped in an odd place, and it was looking into the pole's design.

The council said it would be checking other similar designs to see if the break could be linked to the 14 November earthquake.

MetService has forecast strong northerlies in the city today, with average wind speeds between 20 and 40 km/h from mid-morning to mid-afternoon.

The base of the pole which was supporting the toppled traffic light.

Photo: RNZ / Simon Dickinson

Wellington City Council said it was checking traffic light poles of similar design to one that mysteriously toppled in the CBD, to see if the break could be linked to the November 14th earthquake.

The toppled pole will be replaced by a temporary light.