‘Significant work’ to M62 after lorry fire causes traffic chaos
Motorists faced severe traffic disruption during both morning and evening rush hours after a lorry fire closed a stretch of the M62 yesterday.
There were long tailbacks in the morning after both carriageways were shut to deal with the blaze, which happened shortly after 6.30am, between Junction 29 at M1 Lofthouse and Junction 30 at Rothwell.
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Hide AdThe carriageways were initially cleared at around 11.45am after skips and tipper trucks were used to clear “vast amounts of debris” away from the carriageway, a statement from Highways England said.
But after diesel had been cleared up by 1.45pm, contractors were able to fully assess the damage and deemed that all four lanes required plaining and full resurfacing.
Highways England said: “As contractors had resources in place, plaining work commenced straight away and once completed resurfacing work started at 18:23 hours. White lining and stud replacement work was required once resurfacing of all 4 lanes had been completed. After a significant amount of work to restore the carriageway, it was confirmed by our North East Regional Control Centre that all works had been completed and the road closure was removed at 23:22 hours.”
The traffic problems were exacerbated by a collision on the Leeds inner ring road at a time when the city’s roads were busy with Christmas shopping traffic and people heading to a performance by magician Dynamo at the First Direct Arena.
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Hide AdDrivers in Wakefield also had to contend with a major city centre route being closed due to an accident. Doncaster Road was closed for more than four hours after a woman was hit by a car shortly after 1pm, affecting rush hour traffic.