Motorists face significant delays on the M5 due to a crash and fire, with traffic expected to ease later this morning
Bristol: This morning, the M5 is a mess. There are delays stretching between 50 and 70 minutes after a crash on the northbound side at Cribbs Causeway. The accident caused a fire, but thankfully, firefighters got it under control pretty quickly.
National Highways is saying that traffic is crawling along for miles between junctions 20 and 17. If you’re heading that way, don’t expect things to get back to normal until around 9:45 AM.
According to Inrix, the northbound exit slip road is closed, and two lanes are blocked because of the vehicle fire at junction 17. The backup is stretching all the way back to junction 19, which is quite a stretch. Travel time is currently around 70 minutes.
They had to block the road for about an hour, but it’s reopened now. Still, two lanes are closed on the main road, and the exit slip road at junction 17 is still off-limits.
This whole situation started around 6:20 AM. Earlier, there was another crash involving two lorries and a car on the southbound side at junction 18, but that’s been cleared up, and traffic is moving smoothly there.
You can follow updates with our live blog here.
