Drivers are being warned to expect major disruption throughout the day ahead of emergency works on the M61. Two lanes of traffic have been closed on the southbound carriageway near Bolton since Sunday evening (January 12).
It follows a collision between junctions four at Westhoughton and three at Kearsley, which caused a lorry to shed its load. Work to clear the carriageway began overnight.
But a further spillage took place during those works in the early hours of this morning (Monday). Now, the two lanes are set to remain closed until later tonight, when emergency resurfacing will take place.
The lane closures caused queues of around an hour during the morning rush hour, while neighbouring roads also saw heavy traffic. With the incident ongoing this afternoon, motorists are advised to plan ahead for the evening rush hour.
A National Highways North West spokesperson wrote on X: “2 lanes (of 3) are closed on the #M61 southbound between J4 #Westhoughton & J3 #Kearsley following a substantial hydraulic fluid spillage from a collision Emergency resurfacing of the carriageway is required and scheduled to take place tonight.
An update from the Inrix traffic monitoring system added: “Two lanes closed and queueing traffic due to oil spillage and earlier shed load on M61 Southbound from J4 A6 Watergate Lane (Farnworth) to J3 (Kearsley Spur). Lane closures remain following a lorry shed load yesterday evening. A crane that was arranged to help clear the shed load leaked oil across the carriageway.”