South Manchester was hit by major transport disruption on Saturday after a serious motorway crash shut one of the most important junctions on the M60, cutting the main road link between Manchester, its international airport and Cheshire at the height of the weekend travel period. The WP Times reports, citing Greater Manchester Police, the North West Ambulance Service and traffic-monitoring firm Inrix.
The collision happened shortly before 11:30am on the clockwise carriageway of the M60 at Junction 4, where the orbital motorway connects with the M56, the route used by tens of thousands of drivers each day travelling to Manchester Airport, Wilmslow, Stockport and North Wales.
Emergency services were sent to the scene within minutes. Greater Manchester Police confirmed officers were dispatched after reports of a road traffic collision involving at least one vehicle. The North West Ambulance Servicedeployed paramedics, while Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service sent fire crews as a precaution because motorway crashes carry a high risk of vehicle damage, trapped occupants and fuel leaks. By late morning, the crash site had been sealed off by police vehicles, fire engines and ambulances, allowing emergency crews to assess the situation and secure the area before recovery work began.
According to Inrix, all three lanes of the M60 clockwise were closed immediately after the crash. As of early afternoon, the closure remains in place between Junction 4 (M56) and Junction 5 (Princess Parkway). Although the M56 itself is still open, traffic attempting to join the M60 clockwise from the airport and Cheshire side is being diverted away, forcing thousands of vehicles onto already busy local roads.
The scale of the disruption reflects the importance of this junction. The M60–M56 interchange is one of the most heavily used road links in the North West, carrying airport traffic, long-distance motorway journeys and daily commuter flows between Manchester city centre, Stockport, south Manchester and Cheshire. A closure at this point effectively breaks the M60 for clockwise traffic, turning a motorway incident into a regional transport problem.
Traffic congestion is now spreading across a wide area. Inrix says queues on the M60 stretch back as far as Junction 25 at Brinnington, while severe delays are being reported across Stockport, Cheadle, Bredbury and Davenport as diverted traffic floods residential streets and main A-roads.
Inrix said:
“Routes through Bredbury and Davenport are seeing long delays as traffic diverts around the ongoing closure.”
Video footage from south Manchester shows long lines of stationary vehicles, with traffic moving only intermittently as junctions and roundabouts struggle to cope with the sudden surge of diverted motorway traffic. As of early afternoon, police have not confirmed whether anyone was injured in the crash. Officers remain at the scene while recovery crews work to remove damaged vehicles and clear debris from the carriageway. Highways officers say the motorway will not reopen until all vehicles have been recovered, debris and spilled fluids have been cleared and the road surface has been inspected for safety. No reopening time has been given, but drivers are being warned to expect prolonged disruption through the afternoon as congestion continues to build across Greater Manchester. The incident remains ongoing.
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