Crashes on M62, M8, M6 and M56 disrupt morning traffic

Commuters across several of Britain’s busiest motorways faced extensive delays this week after a series of multivehicle collisions and related incidents during morning rush hours, officials said. Crashes and lane closures on the M62, M8, M6 and M56 at different times between October 20 and October 23 prompted emergency response and long tailbacks that at times stretched for miles.

The most disruptive incident occurred on the M62 eastbound between junction 8 for Burtonwood and junction 9 for Warrington on October 21, when a multivehicle collision forced the closure of two lanes and temporarily held all traffic at about 7:15 a.m. National Highways reported queues extending back to junction 7 and delays that grew to more than 60 minutes, with some updates indicating they exceeded 90 minutes while recovery and emergency crews worked at the scene.

Further disruption on the M62 was reported on October 23 when a separate collision on the westbound carriageway between junctions 11 and 12 blocked three of four lanes. National Highways described the situation as causing severe delays in both directions and said the incident affected traffic on adjacent routes, including parts of the M6,...