M56 stopped traffic J5 westbound

Stopped traffic on the M56 westbound at J5 on Thursday 5 November 2026, from 15:34. Still reported at 19:08 UK time. Timeline of reports from TomTom and the motorway signs.

Status

Live since 15:34 (3 h 35 min)

Location

M56 westbound · J5

Reported as

Incident

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~30 min

Sources

TomTom · Motorway signs

Timeline

1. 15:34 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Stationary traffic”, delay ~9 min
2. 15:38 TomTom no longer reports it
3. 15:38 All clear: no source reports it any more
4. 15:48 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~7 min (reported again)
5. 15:52 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
6. 17:24 TomTom: delay now ~25 min (was ~19)
7. 18:12 Motorway signs: “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN”
8. 18:23 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
9. 18:28 TomTom no longer reports it
10. 18:28 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Queuing traffic
• Overhead signs read “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN” (1 sign; furthest along: link road from Manchester Airport to M56 J5 access).

Other recent incidents on the M56

• M56 crash J5–J6 westboundyesterday 21:57 · cleared after 1 h 8 min
• M56 crash J15–J14 westboundyesterday 19:19 · cleared after 44 min
• M56 crash J14–J15 westboundyesterday 16:07 · cleared after 1 h 26 min
• M56 crash J7–J6yesterday 15:27 · cleared after 1 h
• M56 stopped traffic J6–J7 westboundTue 15:57 · cleared after 3 h 8 min
• 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 delays30 Oct 2026 17:23 · cleared after 1 h 11 min
• M56 stopped traffic J14–J1530 Oct 2026 12:56 · cleared after 1 h 57 min
• M56 stopped traffic J15–J1429 Oct 2026 15:18 · cleared after 3 h 32 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M56 J5.

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