M61 closed J4–J3 southbound

Road closure on the M61 southbound at J4–J3 on Thursday 24 September 2026, from 07:20. Cleared at 16:01 after 80 h 41 min. Timeline of reports from TomTom and the motorway signs.

Status

Cleared 16:01 on 27 Sept 2026, after 80 h 41 min

Location

M61 southbound · J4–J3

Reported as

Road closed

Lanes

Road closed

At its worst

Delay ~16 min

Sources

TomTom ×3 · Motorway signs

Timeline

1. Thu 07:20 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~7 min
2. Thu 07:25 TomTom: “Stationary traffic”
3. Thu 07:42 TomTom: delay now ~16 min (was ~11)
4. Thu 08:43 Motorway signs: “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN”
5. Thu 09:18 TomTom no longer reports it
6. Thu 09:35 TomTom: road closed
7. Thu 12:05 Motorway signs no longer show “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN”
8. Thu 15:37 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Slow traffic”, delay ~3 min
9. Thu 15:41 TomTom: “Queuing traffic”
10. Thu 15:46 TomTom no longer reports it
11. Thu 15:46 All clear: no source reports it any more
12. Thu 15:50 TomTom: queueing traffic, “Queuing traffic”, delay ~4 min (reported again)
13. Thu 15:59 TomTom no longer reports it
14. Sun 15:31 Motorway signs: “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN” (reported again)
15. Sun 16:01 Motorway signs no longer show “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN”
16. Sun 16:01 All clear: no source reports it any more

Source reports

• Stationary traffic
• Overhead signs read “INCIDENT SLOW DOWN” (1 sign; furthest along: M61 southbound between J4 and J3).
• Closed
• Queuing traffic

Other recent incidents on the M61

• M61 stopped traffic J4–J3 southboundyesterday 09:54 · cleared after 1 h 45 min
• M61 stopped traffic J4–J3yesterday 06:37 · cleared after 2 h 22 min
• M61 stopped traffic J3–J2Mon 06:33 · cleared after 2 h 54 min
• M61 crash J4–J3 southboundSat 18:13 · cleared after 39 min
• M61 crash J1–J2 northboundFri 20:45 · cleared after 1 h 2 min
• M61 closed J2–J1 southboundThu 19:39 · cleared after 5 h 2 min
• M61 stopped traffic J3–J2Thu 06:43 · cleared after 2 h 17 min
• M61 stopped traffic J34 Nov 2026 06:45 · cleared after 4 h 3 min
• M61 crash J14 southbound3 Nov 2026 22:32 · cleared after 2 h 27 min
• M61 stopped traffic J3–J23 Nov 2026 17:20 · cleared after 1 h 45 min

Live traffic and past incidents at M61 J4 and M61 J3.

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