An aggrieved motorist wants urgent action to fix Auckland’s Southern Motorway after a pothole blew out two of his vehicle’s tyres on his way to work.

State Highway 1 heading north at Ramarama is currently back down to one lane as crews try a more “permanent” fix after the road started to deteriorate, according to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).

Auckland resident Liam, who only wanted his first name used, said he saw the pothole “two seconds too late” on his way to work at 3.30am.

He said as soon as he heard the massive “bang”, he knew both his tyres were “goners”.

One tyre had enough air to get him home, while the other had been left with a hole big enough he could fit a hand inside.

As he assessed the damage and replaced one with the spare, another car suffered a similar fate, popping both its tyres on the same pothole, he said.

Liam says his car blew two tyres after he hit the pothole on Auckland's Southern Motorway near Ramarama

As he started to drive off he saw another motorist who was assessing damage to their car, and a third vehicle that had also pulled over in the similar spot.

Liam said the community have been petrified of the motorway potholes since August last year when three men lost their lives after a truck struck a pothole in the same area, blowing its tyre and sending it flying across the road.

“More people are going to die,” he said.

The pothole that his vehicle struck today had been a fixture of the road “for a while,” with it routinely being fixed and then washing out a few weeks later.

He also said the frustrating cycle did not only exist on the motorway.

“Lots of the rural, 80km roads out Pukekohe ways are filled with them... some of them are on blind corners, so you have no choice but to hit them or risk swerving off the road.

“It’s shocking.”

This morning, traffic was gridlocked back to the Waikato Expressway while road crews shut the busy route to one lane.

NZTA said the road had “deteriorated” overnight.

The left lane was fully closed, however, NZTA reopened the lane just after 8am.

It was shut down again just before midday so crews could complete “more permanent” repair work.

NZTA told commuters to expect delays when travelling through and to use alternative exits.

Meanwhile, potholes also caused major issues for Waikato drivers.

NZTA said the heavy rain had caused potholes to form at several locations on the Waikato Expressway, and nose-to- tail crashes on the highway had caused significant delays for drivers.

Traffic was left snarled for several hours.