MAJOR TRAFFIC DELAYS occurred on the M7 after a truck carrying bales of straw collided with a flyover bridge.

A lenghty traffic jam quickly accumulated northbound on the motorway following the incident at junction 10 Naas east at around 2:20 this afternoon.

The traffic prompted the GAA to delay the All-Ireland hurling semi-final between Limerick and Waterford by 30 minutes.

Emergency services attended the scene and cleared the motorway of straw. The road is now fully reopened.

Traffic congestion stretching back around 20 kilometres was reported.

As you can see from the video still delays heading Dublin direction on the M7 Naas after to a truck carrying bales of straw hit the bridge before J9a.
Traffic Delayed beyond Newbridge but works to clear are happening now and traffic is moving again. #M7

📸 Kaytlin pic.twitter.com/gMxlvdaDEn

— The Naas Ball (@NaasBall) August 7, 2021

Eyewitness Jamie Moore said the bridge appeared to sustain some damage due to the collision.

Traffic also started to mount on an alternative route through Newbridge.

The motorway is the main route to Croke Park for Waterford and Limerick hurling fans who were travelling to this afternoon’s All Ireland semi-final.

Be careful if driving on the #N7 before the new exit at Kerry Group in Naas. Truck carrying hay hit the bridge and hay everywhere on the road and bits of the bridge fell also. Traffic is mental pic.twitter.com/nqMsVg6Kaj

— Jamie 🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺🇮🇪 (@Jamiemoore1209) August 7, 2021

Up to 24,000 spectators attended the match, which was due to start at 5pm but was pushed back to 5:30pm.

The Limerick and Waterford teams were already in Croke Park when news of the delay was confirmed.