Blackpool Air Show, crash and warm weather means heavy traffic on M6 and M61 around Preston

Queueing traffic on the M6 this afternoon

There is heavy traffic on the motorway network around Preston this afternoon.

Blackpool Air Show taking place this weekend, coupled with hot weather and a collision, means that a high volume of vehicles are heading northbound on the M6 and M61 and then westbound on the M55 towards the resort.

Traffic and congestion northbound on the M6 extends as far back as junction 27 and continues until the M55 junction.

On the M61, traffic extends as far back as junction 8 for Chorley. There is also significant traffic on the M55 towards Blackpool.

A crash on the northbound carriageway around junction 31 – at around 12.47pm – added to the issue. All lanes were reopen on the M6 by around 2pm, with significant delays left behind.

The motorway network congestion is causing knock-on effects on roads in Preston. Golden Way in Penwortham, Liverpool Road in Penwortham, the area around Preston Docks and London Road and London Way are also seeing high volumes of traffic.

The timetable for Blackpool Air Show begins at 2pm today (11 August) and National Highways: North West predicts that traffic should return to normal levels at around that time.

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