Warning of motorway closure after shed load on M62

There are delays of at least 30 minutes on the motorway with tailbacks on the westbound carriageway as far as Junction 23.

The Highways Agency is currently working to remove a heavy goods vehicle from the hard shoulder within a roadworks section of the carriageway between junction 25 and 24.

The vehicle is carrying two large steel coils - each weighing several tons - and one of them has moved in transit to the off-side of the vehicle trailer, posing a risk to other motorway users.

Both the hard shoulder, in use as a running lane during work to install a concrete safety barrier along this section of the motorway, and lane one of the westbound carriageway are currently closed while work to re-position the coils and get the lorry on the move again continues.

The incident happened shortly before 11am - leaving only one lane of the carriageway available past the scene.

Drivers using the route are being advised of delays - and the possibility of the full closure of the carriageway early this afternoon with a crane required on the scene to re-position the steel coils.

Highways Agency traffic officers from the outstation at Tingley are at the scene managing the incident while colleagues at the Highways Agency’s regional control centre at Calder Park near Wakefield have set signs advising motorway users of the lane closures.

With the possibility of the full closure of the carriageway later, the Highways Agency is urging drivers seeking to use the route over the next few hours to check travel conditions before setting out and use alternative routes, or delay journeys, if they wish to avoid congestion