00:00I'm here on the corner of Pennant Hills Road and Evans Road in Carlingford, where a crane behind me is leaning backwards and they've had to close off the road in both directions.
00:12During this morning's peak hour traffic, a lot of cars were diverted down adjoining roads and smaller back streets.
00:19Construction workers at this Merriton site and residents at nearby apartments were forced to evacuate yesterday due to the risk of the crane falling.
00:27Fire chiefs said strong winds could have been a contributing factor to the crane leaning backwards, but it could also be due to failed anchor points.
00:35It's unknown for how long this part of the road will be closed and when residents might be let back into their homes.
00:41As for last night, residents from nearby apartments were forced to find alternative accommodation as they were evacuated,
00:48with some people seeking shelter at Carlingford Court, the local shopping centre, which was turned into emergency accommodation.
00:55Other residents also chose to sleep in their cars so that they could keep the heating on.
00:59The whole of these three units where we live, they were all evacuated.
01:04We were told to come up here and stay up here. They took our details, the police force.
01:09We haven't been told yet if we can go back to our units at the moment, so I think we can, but we'll just have to ask.
01:16Because we actually live straight across from where that crane is, so the driveway is right across from us.
01:22So it's made a bit of a headache for a lot of people.
01:25Construction workers are on site today dealing with the foundations of the crane and potentially if wind conditions ease,
01:31they might be able to safely take the crane apart and hopefully see Pennant Hills Road open back up again and have residents let back into their home.
01:38But that could be until later this afternoon, evening or even into tomorrow. At the moment, it's still up in the air.
