M56 crash J3–J2 eastbound

Crash on the M56 eastbound at J3–J2 on Saturday 24 October 2026, from 13:38. Cleared at 15:59 after 2 h 20 min. Timeline of reports from TomTom and the motorway signs.

Status

Cleared 15:59 on 24 Oct 2026, after 2 h 20 min

Location

M56 eastbound · J3–J2

Reported as

Collision

At its worst

Delay ~6 min

Sources

TomTom ×2 · Motorway signs ×2

Timeline

1. Sat 13:38 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~6 min
2. Sat 13:43 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
3. Sat 13:52 TomTom: now says obstruction or hazard, “Heavy rain, Slow traffic”
4. Sat 13:57 TomTom: now says queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”
5. Sat 14:01 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~5 min
6. Sat 14:55 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF COLLISION”
7. Sat 14:56 TomTom no longer reports it
8. Sat 14:56 All clear: no source reports it any more
9. Sat 15:01 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~3 min (reported again)
10. Sat 15:30 TomTom no longer reports it
11. Sat 15:59 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF COLLISION”
12. Sat 15:59 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Slow traffic
• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF COLLISION” (5 signs; furthest along: M56 eastbound between J3 and J2).
• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF COLLISION” (1 sign; furthest along: link road from Manchester Airport to M56 J5 access).

Other recent incidents on the M56

• M56 reported crash J4–J3 eastboundSun 14:09 · cleared after 1 h 36 min
• M56 reported crash J5 westboundSun 14:09 · cleared after 1 h 36 min
• M56 delaysFri 17:23 · cleared after 1 h 11 min
• M56 stopped traffic J14–J15Fri 12:56 · cleared after 1 h 57 min
• M56 stopped traffic J15–J14Thu 15:18 · cleared after 3 h 32 min
• M56 crash J4–J5 westboundThu 14:32 · cleared after 6 h 26 min
• M56 stopped traffic J3AWed 14:49 · cleared after 3 h 46 min
• M56 stopped traffic J4–J327 Oct 2026 14:12 · cleared after 3 h 17 min
• M56 stopped traffic J3A26 Oct 2026 14:31 · cleared after 4 h 22 min
• M56 stopped traffic J14–J1526 Oct 2026 07:12 · cleared after 2 h 9 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M56 J3 and M56 J2.

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