The Tamar Bridge closed on Saturday morning, November 7, after a police incident shut the route into Cornwall from Plymouth. By 12pm, the bridge had reopened, but Tamar Crossings still warned that delays were likely to continue.
At 8.06am, Tamar Crossings said the bridge and tunnel were “currently closed due to an ongoing police incident.” It asked drivers to expect delays and said it would give updates once the situation was resolved.
Tamar Crossings and Inrix
The closure held up traffic for almost an hour on a key route between Plymouth and Cornwall. A traffic map also showed huge queues on Saturday morning, November 7, as the bridge remained shut.
By midday, Inrix reported that the bridge was open and traffic had returned to normal. Tamar Crossings said the bridge had now reopened, but it still expected delays.
A38 Westbound on Tamar Bridge
Inrix said one lane remained closed and traffic was still slow on the A38 Westbound on Tamar Bridge. That meant the main closure had ended, but drivers using the crossing were not yet clear of the disruption.
For motorists heading into Cornwall from Plymouth, the practical sign was simple: the bridge was moving again, but not normally. The reopening reduced the worst of the backlog, while the remaining lane closure kept pressure on traffic through the crossing.
Plymouth and Cornwall delays
The incident itself was over, but the road picture was not fully reset. Drivers using the Tamar Bridge still had to deal with lingering delays after the reopening, and the remaining restriction showed how quickly one closure can keep traffic moving slowly even after the main stop ends.
What caused the police incident was not explained in the update, so the immediate issue for drivers was not the reason for the closure but the recovery time after it. For anyone crossing between Plymouth and Cornwall, the safer assumption was that the queue would ease before the route felt normal again.
