Live: M4 slip road closed after two-vehicle crash near Bristol

A slip road is closed on the M4 following a two-vehicle crash near Bristol this afternoon (Friday, December 20). The collision took place heading westbound. According to traffic monitoring site Inrix, the entry slip road at junction 19 for the M32 is now closed.

The crash was first reported by Inrix at 12.40pm. Inrix says: "M4 westbound lane closed on entry slip road due to accident, two cars involved at J19 M32 (Bristol). Traffic is coping well."

Millions of drivers will set off on their Christmas holidays[1] today, Friday, December 20, and it means the likelihood of heavy traffic on the M5[2], the M4[3], the M32, the M48 and M49. We will keep you updated with the latest on the roads through Bristol, Gloucestershire and Somerset and beyond with our live blog below. For those heading towards Devon, there are currently 90-minute delays between junctions 29 and 30 following a lorry fire.

One lane is closed and recovery work is under way. The M5 is expected to be one of the most congested routes in the country today[4], with the Almondsbury Interchange, where the M5 meets the M4, expected to be particularly bad. The RAC has branded period "pre-Christmas panic" on the roads, and says the worst times to travel are between 1pm and 7pm.

It says that on both 'Frantic Friday' and 'Snarl-up Saturday', the worst time to travel along major routes will be between 1pm and 7pm.

Both the RAC and traffic monitoring service INRIX suggesting drivers set off early in the morning, or later in the evening when the heaviest of the traffic should have subsided."

We will bring you all the traffic updates across the South West in the blog below.

References

1. ^ Christmas holidays (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
2. ^ heavy traffic on the M5 (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
3. ^ the M4 (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
4. ^ one of the most congested routes in the country today (www.bristolpost.co.uk)