M61 chaos as two crashes cause long delays on motorway

Drivers faced long delays on the M61 following two crashes on the northbound carriageway. All traffic was stopped earlier this morning (September 12) near to the M6 junction, in Lancashire.

A second crash has also taken place near Horwich. A lane was shut between junctions six and eight following the second collision.

A spokesperson for National Highways wrote on X: "The #M61 northbound between J9 (#M65) and #M6 J30 near #BamberBridge, traffic has been temporarily STOPPED due to a collision. There is currently approx. 3.5 miles of congestion on approach, causing delays of 25 minutes above usual journey times."

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All lanes of traffic have since reopened. In an update, National Highways says drivers are facing hour-long delays.

Lancashire Police confirmed the first collision was 'damage only'. Both incidents were cleared at around 11.30am.

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Both incidents have now been cleared.

One lane remains shut between junctions eight and six, according to Inrix.

All lanes have now reopened following the first crash, near the M6 junction.

All lanes have now reopened on the #M61 northbound between J9 (#M65) and #M6 J30 near #BamberBridge following the earlier collision.

There is still approx. 2 miles of congestion on approach, causing residual delays of 15 minutes above usual journey times. pic.twitter.com/fmRIDggynO

Drivers on the M61 northbound are facing more disruption this morning following a second crash.

One lane is currently closed between junctions six for Horwich and eight for Chorley.

Queues are