Chaos-causing Barangaroo load lowered

A piece of heavy machinery left dangling high above Sydney's Barangaroo overnight because of a malfunctioning crane has finally been lowered to the ground.

The crane jammed while lowering a cherry-picker from the roof of Barangaroo's Tower One on Tuesday afternoon, and its load was left dangling 50 storeys above the site through the night and well into Wednesday.

But the machinery was safely lowered to the ground on Wednesday afternoon following an hours-long operation.

Motorists were urged to avoid the area and parts of Hickson Road and Sussex Street were closed through the morning peak on Wednesday.

"We are pleased to advise that the load on the crane at Barangaroo Tower One has now been safely lowered," Andrew Wilson, developer Lendlease's Barangaroo managing director, said in a statement.

"Safety is always our number one priority and the precautionary exclusion zone remains in place with traffic management along the closed section of Hickson Road.

"We apologise for the inconvenience this matter has caused."