M6 Traffic Closed Near Stafford After Serious Collision at J14
M6 traffic was held northbound in Staffordshire after a serious collision shut the motorway between J14 Stafford and J15 Stoke on Trent at about 05:10am on Thursday, May 14. The closure came as rush hour began, leaving drivers facing delays and queues on the approach to J14.
National Highways said the northbound carriageway was closed between J14 and J15 after the crash. It said there were delays of up to 60 minutes on the approach to the closure at J14, while traffic backed up for three miles and later seven miles.
J14 Stafford Closure
Traffic was being held on the northbound route in Staffordshire while Staffordshire Police led the response. National Highways said the collision investigation team were en route to the motorway, with collision investigation work ongoing at the scene.
Staffordshire Police and the fire service were both at the scene. The presence of those services showed the scale of the response needed before the road could reopen.
National Highways Diversion
National Highways put a diversion route in place for northbound traffic. Drivers coming from further afield were advised to use the M1 and the A50, giving them an alternative route away from the closed section of the M6.
The reopening time was not stated, so the practical option for drivers was to avoid the closure and follow the signed diversion. With the road shut between J14 and J15 and queues building during the morning peak, the impact centered on northbound journeys through Staffordshire rather than the wider motorway network.
Queues On The M6
The first sign for many drivers was not the crash itself but the slowdown that followed it. National Highways described the incident as causing up to 60 minutes of delay, while earlier reports put congestion at three miles and at least 30 minutes before the queue extended further.
That left one clear takeaway for anyone heading north: the closure was already affecting travel before the morning was fully under way, and the official diversion offered the only named route around the shut stretch of motorway.
