M4 closed J19–J20 westbound (broken-down vehicle)

Road closure on the M4 westbound at J19–J20 on Friday 23 October 2026, from 14:24. Still reported at 17:08 UK time. Timeline of reports from TomTom, National Highways and the motorway signs.

Status

Live since 14:24 (2 h 44 min)

Location

M4 westbound · J19–J20

Reported as

Broken-down vehicle

Lanes

Road closed

Delay

~52 min

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~79 min

Sources

TomTom ×8 · National Highways ×4 · Motorway signs

Timeline

1. 14:24 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~15 min
2. 14:47 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~12 min
3. 14:48 TomTom no longer reports it
4. 14:48 All clear: no source reports it any more
5. 14:53 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~24 min (reported again)
6. 14:56 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~21 min (reported again)
7. 15:07 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~7 min
8. 15:10 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~19 min (reported again)
9. 15:17 National Highways: road closed
10. 15:24 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~33 min
11. 15:33 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~9 min
12. 15:38 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~13 min
13. 15:38 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
14. 15:42 TomTom: delay now ~24 min (was ~13)
15. 15:47 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
16. 15:51 Motorway signs: “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
17. 15:52 TomTom: delay now ~13 min (was ~19)
18. 15:52 TomTom: delay now ~22 min (was ~6), “Stationary traffic”
19. 15:55 National Highways: road closed
20. 16:01 TomTom: delay now ~29 min (was ~22)
21. 16:05 TomTom: delay now ~50 min (was ~29)
22. 16:10 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~19 min (reported again)
23. 16:10 TomTom: delay now ~79 min (was ~50)
24. 16:14 TomTom: delay now ~36 min (was ~79)
25. 16:17 National Highways: road closed
26. 16:19 TomTom: delay now ~24 min (was ~36)
27. 16:20 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~22 min (reported again)
28. 16:24 TomTom: delay now ~33 min (was ~22)
29. 16:24 TomTom: delay now ~34 min (was ~24)
30. 16:28 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
31. 16:33 TomTom: delay now ~27 min (was ~16)
32. 16:33 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
33. 16:47 TomTom: delay now ~37 min (was ~27)
34. 16:47 TomTom: delay now ~66 min (was ~41)
35. 16:51 TomTom: delay now ~25 min (was ~37)
36. 16:56 TomTom: delay now ~16 min (was ~25)
37. 16:58 National Highways: road closed
38. 17:00 TomTom: delay now ~26 min (was ~56)
39. 17:00 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~24 min
40. 17:04 Motorway signs no longer show “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW”
41. 17:05 TomTom: delay now ~52 min (was ~26)
42. 17:05 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~22 min

Source reports

• Stationary traffic
• M4 westbound between J20 and J21
• Overhead signs read “STRANDED VEHICLE-SLOW” (4 signs; furthest along: M4 westbound between J19 and J20).

Other recent incidents on the M4

• M4 crash J6–J5 eastbound15:23 · cleared after 40 min
• M4 closed J20–J21 westbound12:44 · cleared after 2 h 44 min
• M4 crash J8–J10 westboundyesterday 15:23 · cleared after 2 h 46 min
• M4 crash J4B–J5 westboundyesterday 09:55 · cleared after 4 h 33 min
• M4 stopped traffic J20–J21yesterday 07:02 · cleared after 51 min
• M4 crash J35 westboundWed 22:53 · cleared after 1 h 25 min
• M4 closed J20–J21 westboundWed 20:45 · cleared after 6 h 52 min
• M4 crash J10–J8 eastboundWed 13:16 · cleared after 36 min
• M4 crash J18Wed 07:27 · cleared after 23 min
• M4 crash J19–J20 westboundWed 06:54 · cleared after 2 h 33 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.