M5 crashes: ‘Total chaos’ as drivers stuck in nightmare traffic
There is traffic chaos around North Somerset and Bristol after two crashes on the M5. A driver said there is "total chaos" around Backwell, Nailsea and Portishead[1].
The first crash on the M5 took place near Weston-super-Mare shortly after 1.30pm this afternoon (Thursday, October 3). An air ambulance was called after a van and a bike collided[2] between junction 21 and junction 22.
At the time of writing (8.45pm), a stretch of the southbound carriageway remains closed for resurfacing work. A diversion route is in place[3] for motorists via the A38 and the A370.
A picture from the A370 West Town Road, in Backwell, shows long tailbacks of traffic. One motorist has been stuck in the traffic for around two hours.
They said: "Total chaos all around Backwell, Nailsea, Portishead and the main Weston-super-Mare road. All due to this accident earlier. Now there's been another one in the last few minutes. Total standstill everywhere I'm now parked up can't get home taken me two hours so far.”
The situation is being made worse by a recent multi-vehicle crash on the M5 near Bristol. All traffic was stopped between junction 18 and junction 19 shortly before 7.20pm.
There are now currently two lanes closed on the southbound carriageway. For all of the latest updates on the M5 chaos, follow our live blog here.[4]
References
- ^ Portishead (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
- ^ a van and a bike collided (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ A diversion route is in place (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ live blog here. (www.somersetlive.co.uk)