M6 southbound reopens in Cheshire following fuel spillage

THE M6 has now reopened southbound in Cheshire, having been closed overnight and for much of this morning.

Drivers faced five-mile queues and delays of an hour as they approached junction 17 for Sandbach earlier today, February 17.

The stretch down to junction 16 for Crewe remained closed for resurfacing work until 11.15am following two incidents yesterday afternoon.

The motorway had also been closed from junction 18 at Middlewich and Holmes Chapel on Tuesday.

Yesterday firefighters were called to two incidents on the M6 Southbound J17. One involved a leak from a fuel tanker following a collision and the other was a collision involving a van and LGV. https://t.co/kEHUb4P8Qn

The road is now open. @HighwaysNWEST @NWmwaypolice pic.twitter.com/4lpBXqsuz6

— Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service (@CheshireFire) February 17, 2021

A spokesman for Highways England said: “The original incident involved a tanker which struck a bridge causing a large tear in the side of it. This caused fuel to flow out of the tanker.

“The tanker was carrying 28,000 litres of fuel and it is estimated that at least 14,000 litres leaked out on to the carriageway.

“Environment Agency liaised with fire and rescue services and recovery has now been completed for the tanker."

There was also a second collision yesterday between a van and a lorry, which led to all occupants being taken to hospital.

The M6 northbound was closed for a time yesterday afternoon to allow the air ambulance to land.

All trapped traffic was released on Tuesday evening.