M6 stopped traffic J20–J21 northbound

Stopped traffic on the M6 northbound at J20–J21 on Tuesday 20 October 2026, from 13:36. Still reported at 19:02 UK time. Timeline of reports from the motorway signs and TomTom.

Status

Live since 13:36 (5 h 26 min)

Location

M6 northbound · J20–J21

Reported as

Incident

Delay

~10 min

At its worst

Stationary traffic · delay ~62 min

Sources

Motorway signs · TomTom ×4

Timeline

1. 13:36 Motorway signs: “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN”
2. 14:01 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic, Lane closed”, delay ~4 min
3. 14:16 Motorway signs no longer show “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN”
4. 14:24 TomTom: “Queuing traffic, Lane closed”
5. 14:42 TomTom: “Stationary traffic, Lane closed”
6. 14:47 TomTom: delay now ~12 min (was ~7)
7. 14:51 TomTom: delay now ~17 min (was ~12)
8. 14:56 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic, Lane closed”, delay ~6 min
9. 15:05 TomTom: “Stationary traffic, Lane closed”
10. 15:10 TomTom: “Queuing traffic, Lane closed”
11. 15:14 TomTom: delay now ~30 min (was ~21)
12. 15:19 TomTom: “Stationary traffic, Lane closed”
13. 15:23 TomTom: delay now ~62 min (was ~37)
14. 15:33 TomTom: delay now ~36 min (was ~55)
15. 15:37 TomTom: delay now ~6 min (was ~11), “Queuing traffic, Lane closed”
16. 15:42 TomTom: “Slow traffic, Lane closed”
17. 16:00 TomTom: delay now ~20 min (was ~35)
18. 16:29 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic, Lane closed”, delay ~4 min (reported again)
19. 16:33 TomTom: delay now ~43 min (was ~31)
20. 16:46 TomTom: “Slow traffic, Lane closed”
21. 17:05 TomTom: “Queuing traffic, Lane closed”
22. 17:28 TomTom: “Slow traffic, Lane closed”
23. 17:46 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~7 min
24. 18:00 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~5 min
25. 18:04 TomTom: “Slow traffic”
26. 18:09 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
27. 18:13 TomTom: now says obstruction or hazard, “Heavy rain, Queuing traffic”
28. 18:18 TomTom: now says queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”
29. 18:36 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~4 min (reported again)

Source reports

• Overhead signs read “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN” (3 signs; furthest along: M6 northbound between J20 and J21).
• Stationary traffic, Lane closed
• Slow traffic, Lane closed
• Queuing traffic
• Slow traffic

Other recent incidents on the M6

• M6 crash J31A–J31 southbound16:46 · Live
• M6 stopped traffic J7–J6 southbound12:03 · Live
• M6 stopped traffic J28–J27 southbound11:28 · cleared after 1 h 48 min
• M6 stopped traffic J4–J4A northbound10:50 · Live
• M6 crash J32–J33 northbound10:40 · cleared after 2 h 6 min
• M6 crash J14–J15 northbound08:51 · cleared after 54 min
• M6 stopped traffic J23–J22 southbound06:41 · cleared after 4 h 12 min
• M6 stopped traffic J8–J906:19 · cleared after 3 h 4 min
• M6 stopped traffic J7–J6 southbound06:14 · cleared after 4 h 35 min
• M6 crash J23 northbound01:45 · cleared after 2 h 16 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.