M6 diesel spill: Overnight closure needed for repairs after 200 litres of fuel pours out

A massive clean-up operation was required early on Monday morning after the fuel spillage which closed the motorway on the northbound carriageway between Junction 9 for Wednesbury and Junction 11 for Cannock.

National Highways first reported the incident shortly before 3am, when the agency said the motorway was shut. Photos shared by the agency showed the lorry on the hard shoulder just before Junction 10A with the M54.

The closure also meant the M54 was shut between the M6 and Junction 1, with drivers unable to go straight from one motorway to the other.

It was nearly an hour before traffic caught up in the closed stretch of motorway was released, and not until around 9.30am that any lanes were reopened again.

At first only lanes four and five were reopened while lane three was treated before being reopened to traffic at around 1.30pm, 11 hours after the spillage.

However, National Highways said lanes and and two would remain closed throughout the day, with the motorway set to be closed between Junction 10, Walsall, and the M54 from 10.30pm tonight until 6am on Tuesday.

In a statement the agency said: "Approximately 200 litres of diesel has run onto the road surface, specialist contractors have advised that lanes 1 and 2 will remain closed throughout the day and resurfaced fully overnight with the M6 being closed to complete this safely."

From 10.30pm tonight drivers heading north along the M6 will have to turn off at Junction 10 to follow the diversion route that will take them via Wolverhampton city centre.

The diversion route is:

• Take the exit for A454 westbound (Black Country Route)

• Continue along A454 westwards until junction with the A4150 ring road St David’s

• Take the exit for A4150 northbound and continue to its junction with A449 Stafford Street

• Take the exit for A449 northbound

The A449 will then bring drivers to the M54 at Junction 2. Drivers wanting to continue north and rejoin the M6 should stay on the A449 until they reach the motorway at Junction 12.

National Highways Duty Operations Manager, Nick Baker said: “Safety is our top priority and we need to resurface the M6 this evening near Walsall following a significant diesel spillage earlier on today. We’re doing this work overnight when the road is at its quietest and we’d like to thank motorists for their patience and to leave additional times for their journeys this evening.”

Drivers were being warned of 60-minute delays on Monday afternoon, with traffic cameras showing queues stretching back past Junction 8, for the M5, on the northbound carriageway of the M6, and towards Junction 1 on the M5.