A section of M4 has been closed for hours after a lorry crash, which soaked the motorway in diesel.
Drivers using the M4 in Wiltshire face tricky journeys today after a chunk of the motorway closed westbound following the spillage shortly after 2am.
The carriageway is expected to remain shut between junctions J16 Swindon and J17 Chippenham after the crash in the early hours of the morning.
liters of diesel gushed onto the road and the central reservation was also damaged, rendering a stretch of the motorway unusable westbound until full repairs are carried out.
Hundreds of motorists were stuck in queueing traffic this morning, with some reporting waiting for four hours.
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Footage shared online shows people getting out of their vehicles and standing along the central reservation as the sun was rising.
National Highways said: ‘Recovery of the HGV was completed at 06:40, the process was protracted due to the vehicle coming to rest on the central reservation barrier. National Highways area team crews are now treating the road surface following a substantial oil spillage from the collision.
‘A National Highways inspector has attended scene and confirmed that 146 meters of carriageway require resurfacing, with the road unable to re-open until this is completed. Emergency barrier repairs are alos required, however these can be completed within back-to-back lane 3 closures.
‘Although no defenititive re-opening time is currently available early estimates suggest the M4 westbound heading towards Bristol will remain closed throughout this evenings peak traffic perioud and until at least 18:00.
‘All traffic caught within the closure has been turned and released.’
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