All traffic on the M62 was stopped on Wednesday, July 8, after a multi-car crash on the eastbound carriageway between Birchwood and the M60 and M602. The incident was reported around 5.30pm, when rush hour traffic was building and cameras showed vehicles being held.
National Highways warned of delays of at least half an hour and congestion stretching for two miles. Recovery was called to the scene as the vehicles were moved from the carriageway, while police and traffic officers dealt with the closure.
Birchwood and the M60
The crash affected drivers heading eastbound between J11 for Birchwood and J12 for the M60 and M602. That stretch was fully restricted at first, leaving no through movement on a busy corridor where even a short delay can quickly build into a queue.
National Highways later said two lanes remained shut after the crash. That left the route partially blocked even after the first response, so traffic was still forced to pass through with reduced capacity.
National Highways response
The sequence from report to recovery was straightforward: the crash was reported, traffic was held, recovery was sent, and the vehicles were cleared from the carriageway. The lingering closure shows the scene was still being dealt with after the initial stop, not simply reopened once the first vehicles were moved.
One detail still mattered for anyone caught in it: the exact number of vehicles involved was not known, and no further details about the nature of the collision were given. For drivers on the M62, the practical result was already clear — a late-afternoon delay, a two-mile queue, and two lanes still closed while the road was being put back into service.
Wednesday, July 8
Rush hour turned a collision into a wider disruption because the hold came at around 5.30pm, when the M62 was carrying peak traffic between Birchwood and the M60. Anyone approaching that section had to expect slower movement and a partial shutdown until the lanes reopened fully.
