A12 crash A12 eastbound

Crash on the A12 eastbound at A12 on Wednesday 23 September 2026, from 14:31. Cleared at 20:43 after 6 h 12 min. Timeline of reports from TomTom and TfL.

Status

Cleared 20:43 on 23 Sept 2026, after 6 h 12 min

Location

A12 eastbound · A12

Reported as

Collision

Lanes

1 of 2 lanes closed

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~42 min

Sources

TomTom ×13 · TfL ×3

Timeline

1. Wed 14:31 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~3 min
2. Wed 14:33 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~4 min
3. Wed 14:52 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
4. Wed 15:20 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
5. Wed 15:40 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~5 min
6. Wed 15:45 TfL: collision, 1 of 3 lanes closed
7. Wed 15:46 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~10 min
8. Wed 15:48 TomTom: delay now ~3 min (was ~8), “Queuing traffic”
9. Wed 16:00 TfL: 2 of 3 lanes closed (was 1), “and two (of three) is blocked due to a collision. Traffic is slow on approach. Expect delays.”
10. Wed 16:08 TfL: “Eastbound traffic is stationary from Temple Mills. Expect delays.”
11. Wed 16:10 TfL: “Traffic is slow on approach. Expect delays.”
12. Wed 16:11 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~4 min
13. Wed 16:12 TfL: “Eastbound traffic is stationary from Lea Bridge Interchange. Expect delays.”
14. Wed 16:16 TomTom: delay now ~30 min (was ~10)
15. Wed 16:29 TomTom: delay now ~42 min (was ~30)
16. Wed 16:29 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
17. Wed 16:40 TfL: “slow moving from East Cross Tunnel. Expect delays.”
18. Wed 16:43 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
19. Wed 16:44 TfL: all lanes reopened, “All lanes are open following clearance of a collision. Eastbound traffic is slow moving from East Cross Tunnel. Expect delays.”
20. Wed 16:54 TfL: “along A12 from A12 Lea Interchange. Expect delays.”
21. Wed 16:57 TomTom: delay now ~12 min (was ~30), “Slow traffic”
22. Wed 17:09 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~2 min
23. Wed 17:11 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
24. Wed 17:12 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~3 min
25. Wed 17:17 TfL no longer reports it
26. Wed 17:31 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~2 min
27. Wed 17:59 TfL: broken-down vehicle, 1 of 2 lanes closed
28. Wed 18:07 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
29. Wed 18:22 TfL: broken-down vehicle, 1 of 2 lanes closed
30. Wed 18:33 TfL: “moving from East Cross Tunnel. Expect delays.”
31. Wed 18:37 TfL: “Wick Road. Expect delays.”
32. Wed 18:39 TfL: “East Cross Tunnel. Expect delays.”
33. Wed 18:41 TfL: “Wick Road. Expect delays.”
34. Wed 18:49 TfL: all lanes reopened, “All lanes are open following clearance of a broken down car. Traffic is slow moving from Wick Road. Expect delays.”
35. Wed 18:57 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~5 min
36. Wed 18:59 TfL: “along A12. Expect delays.”
37. Wed 19:02 TomTom: delay now ~8 min (was ~16), “Slow traffic”
38. Wed 19:16 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~3 min
39. Wed 19:16 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
40. Wed 19:25 TfL: “Approach with caution. Traffic is flowing well.”
41. Wed 19:30 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
42. Wed 19:35 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~3 min
43. Wed 19:37 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~4 min
44. Wed 19:44 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
45. Wed 19:50 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~3 min
46. Wed 19:57 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
47. Wed 20:11 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
48. Wed 20:25 TomTom no longer reports it
49. Wed 20:43 TfL no longer reports it
50. Wed 20:43 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Slow traffic
• Queuing traffic
• [A12] A 12 (Eastbound) at the junction of [A106] Gainsborough Road - All lanes are open following clearance of a collision. Eastbound traffic is slow along A12 from A12 Lea Interchange. Expect delays.
• Stationary traffic
• [A12] A 12 (Eastbound) at the junction of [A1199] A 1199 - All lanes are open following clearance of a broken down car. Traffic is slow along A12. Expect delays.
• [A12] Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach (Northbound) at the junction of [A118] High Street - Lane one (of two) is blocked due to a broken down car Approach with caution. Traffic is flowing well.

Other recent incidents on the A12

• A12 closed southboundMon 00:18 · cleared after 3 h 42 min
• A12 crash J28–J26Sat 19:22 · cleared after 10 h 3 min
• A12 crash J26–J28Sat 18:45 · cleared after 9 h 9 min
• A12 crash J26–J28Sat 18:44 · cleared after 9 h 11 min
• A12 crashSat 16:51 · cleared after 12 h 7 min
• A12 stopped trafficSat 13:39 · cleared after 46 min
• A12 crash Eastern Avenue eastboundFri 22:50 · cleared after 3 h 52 min
• A12 crash Eastern Avenue eastboundThu 20:04 · cleared after 51 min
• A12 crashThu 16:31 · cleared after 2 h 45 min
• A12 crash4 Nov 2026 15:52 · cleared after 2 h 22 min

The sources don't report causes or injuries, so neither does this page. Times are UK time. For alerts, follow @motorways.me on Bluesky.