Grocery truck crash brings down power lines in Norfolk, Taranaki

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A grocery truck that crashed into a ditch has brought down power poles at Norfolk, Taranaki. (File photo)

A grocery truck has crashed into a ditch at Norfolk, Taranaki, bringing down power lines and blocking the road on Wednesday morning.

Emergency services responded to the crash about 4.30am on State Highway 3 between Durham Rd and Dudley Rd.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand responded to the crash with two crews from Inglewood, shift manager Karen McDonald said.

The driver was not trapped, but the crash had brought down power poles, McDonald said.

Crews assisted police with traffic control until contractors arrived.

A police spokesperson said the power company, Powerco, had been notified and at 6.15am workers from the company arrived to begin clearing the road.

The spokesperson said Fire and Emergency initially closed the road around the power lines and had since passed traffic control duties to contractors.

Just before 7.10am, contractors were still working at the scene.

A Powerco spokesperson said 344 customers were affected by the crash.

Power was “progressively” being restored.

However, field crews were still waiting for the crash site to be cleared so they could replace the “damaged equipment to enable restoration of power to all properties”, the spokesperson said.

By 8.45am, 124 properties remained without power and restoration was expected at 5pm.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advised motorists there was stop/go traffic management in place around the crash site, near the intersection with Durham Rd Lower, with a temporary 30kph speed restriction.