A Broad Bay resident says it was ''very lucky'' a tree that came crashing down on to Portobello Rd yesterday did not injure anybody.
The tree fell about 20m from what appears to be Dunedin City Council reserve land early yesterday afternoon on to the busy tourist route just north of Turnbull Bay.
Last evening, cars were backed up at Castlewood Rd as contractors let local residents through a roadblock but required others to take a detour.
Workers using a large digger were still clearing logs from the road and loading them on to trucks.
At her Oxley Cr property above where the tree had fallen, Jackie Fogden said her husband had heard the tree fall and ran to the house to tell her.
While there was a fresh wind last night, Mrs Fogden said it was not very windy when the tree came down, but the soil on the steep bank was soft.
Accompanied by a neighbour, she took a nearby track down to the road and the pair spent the next half hour or so stopping traffic on both sides of the site.
She said there was no traffic on the road at the time the tree fell.
''It was lucky, really lucky.''
A contractor was working nearby on Portobello Rd, but while he got a fright when he heard the tree falling, he was out of harm's way.
Bus services were delayed.
The Otago Regional Council said services had to take a detour until the tree was cleared.
It is understood the tree was due for removal.
