An incident involving a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) has caused significant traffic disruptions on a busy stretch of the motorway as the HGV veered off the carriageway.
The M1 was temporarily closed following the accident, as reported by the Inrix traffic monitoring system. The incident occurred on the M1 southbound, near junction 35 at the A629 Cowley Hill in Rotherham.
At 11 am this morning, all traffic came to a standstill, and the entry slip road at junction 35 was also shut down. Drivers have been urged to steer clear of the area while emergency services attend to the scene of the HGV collision.
The authorities have indicated that the clearance of the crash will not be completed until after midnight. Additionally, the closure of the entry slip is expected to be resolved between 9:15 pm and 9:30 pm, according to National Highways.
National Highways has confirmed that all lanes on the M1 southbound have now reopened, and normal traffic flow is anticipated to resume between 3:00 pm and 3:15 pm. However, the southbound entry slip at J35 remains closed with an estimated clearance time between 7:45 pm and 8:00 pm.
Traffic England has projected that the incident on the slip road and the lane closure on the M1 southbound will not be resolved until around 6:30 pm – 6:45 pm. National Highways has revised the expected clearance time for the incident to be between 4:30 pm and 4:45 pm, causing delays of approximately 30 minutes compared to usual traffic.
Currently, there are only minor delays with three out of four lanes open, resulting in slow-moving traffic in a limited area. Southbound entry slip at J35 of the M1 is still closed due to a vehicle accident, and National Highways anticipates the situation to normalize by 2:15 pm – 2:30 pm.
Moreover, one of four lanes on the M1 southbound, between junctions J35 and J34, remains closed with delays of about 30 minutes compared to regular traffic flow. The closure is expected to be lifted by 3:30 pm – 3:45 pm today.
The M1 southbound entry slip at J35 remains shut, leading to extensive delays caused by the HGV incident that has resulted in the vehicle leaving the carriageway. The congestion has spread to J36 (Barnsley South/Hoyland).
Following a 40-minute road blockage, lane one on the main carriageway was closed, and the entry slip remains inaccessible since around 11:00 am. South Yorkshire Police have confirmed responding to the incident of an HGV leaving the carriageway on the M1 southbound near J35, leading to the closure of the southbound carriageway with a plea for motorists to avoid the area.