M56 stopped traffic J5–J6 westbound

Stopped traffic on the M56 westbound at J5–J6 on Saturday 3 October 2026, from 01:05. Cleared at 09:48 after 248 h 43 min. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs and TomTom.

Status

Cleared 09:48 on 13 Oct 2026, after 248 h 43 min

Location

M56 westbound · J5–J6

Reported as

Obstruction or hazard

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~25 min

Sources

Motorway signs · TomTom ×2

Timeline

1. Sat 00:38 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION”
2. Sat 12:38 Motorway signs: still reported after more than 12 hours, so treated as out of date
3. Sat 12:38 All clear: no source reports it any more
4. Sun 20:18 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION” (reported again)
5. Sun 21:49 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION”
6. Sun 21:49 All clear: no source reports it any more
7. Sun 05:52 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION” (reported again)
8. Sun 06:22 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION”
9. Sun 06:22 All clear: no source reports it any more
10. Tue 06:26 Motorway signs: “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION” (reported again)
11. Tue 06:56 Motorway signs no longer show “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION”
12. Tue 06:56 All clear: no source reports it any more
13. Tue 07:26 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min
14. Tue 07:49 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~8 min
15. Tue 07:54 TomTom: delay now ~18 min (was ~8)
16. Tue 07:58 TomTom: delay now ~25 min (was ~18), “Stationary traffic”
17. Tue 08:40 TomTom no longer reports it
18. Tue 08:40 All clear: no source reports it any more
19. Tue 08:40 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~19 min (reported again)
20. Tue 09:39 TomTom no longer reports it
21. Tue 09:39 All clear: no source reports it any more
22. Tue 09:44 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min (reported again)
23. Tue 09:48 TomTom no longer reports it

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “REPORT OF OBSTRUCTION” (2 signs; furthest along: M56 westbound between J5 and J6).
• Slow traffic

Other recent incidents on the M56

• M56 crash J3–J4 westbound04:41 · cleared after 1 h 38 min
• M56 stopped traffic J3Ayesterday 18:16 · cleared after 32 min
• M56 stopped traffic J3–J2yesterday 15:26 · cleared after 2 h 8 min
• M56 stopped traffic J3–J4 westboundWed 18:00 · cleared after 39 min
• M56 crash J3–J2 eastboundSat 16:31 · cleared after 1 h 14 min
• M56 crash J6–J7 westbound10 Oct 2026 10:51 · cleared after 53 min
• M56 reported crash J4–J5 westbound8 Oct 2026 06:07 · cleared after 47 min
• M56 stopped traffic J3–J4 westbound5 Oct 2026 15:51 · cleared after 17 h 44 min
• M56 crash J15–J14 eastbound29 Sept 2026 16:17 · cleared after 1 h 56 min
• M56 stopped traffic J14–J1528 Sept 2026 15:43 · cleared after 2 h 32 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.