North Shore residents are being urged to take some initiative

Partial lane closures on the Auckland Harbour Bridge saw some people stuck in traffic for hours on their way to work.

The bridge's capacity won't improve until temporary repair works to its superstructure finish later this week.

North Shore representative on the Auckland Council Chris Darby says if they can, people should avoid the area and work or study from home.

He says you can also look at taking the northern bus way - or a ferry.