Travel chaos as major road used by thousands of drivers CLOSES sparking queues of traffic – how to avoid

DRIVERS are facing severe delays as a major road closure sparks travel chaos.

The A14 in Suffolk is closed westbound between J45 near Battlies Green and J44 near Bury St Edmunds because of a “police incident”.

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The closure on the A14 was first reported shortly before 6pm, with National Highways warning motorists that it is expected to remain in place for some time.

A National Highways spokesperson said: “The A14 in Suffolk is closed westbound between J45 (Battlies Green) and J44 (Bury St Edmunds) due to a Suffolk Police-led incident.

“Due to the nature of the incident, the road is expected to remain closed for a protracted period of time.”

A Suffolk Police spokesperson said: “One lane closed due to police incident on A14 Westbound from J45 Sow Lane (Rougham) to J44 A134 (Bury Eastern Interchange / Moreton Hall). One lane has reopened following a full closure earlier.”

The following diversion route has been put in place by National Highways: 

• Exit the A14 at J47 Woolpit and follow the A1088 through Norton and Stowlangtoft to the roundabout with the A143 at Ixworth.
• At the roundabout take the first exit and continue on the A143 e through Great Barton to rejoin the A14 westbound carriageway at J43 St Saviours.

This follows the closure of a major motorway that is heavily utilized by thousands of drivers, which was shut in both directions due to a multi-car crash.

The M3 in Hampshire closed in both directions between J9 near Winchester and J8 near Basingstoke from 7.30pm on Saturday.

National Highways said the closure was because of a “multi-vehicle collision”.

One person was hospitalised and three others were injured as ambulances arrived from 7.10pm.

Motorists were diverted and National Highways warned drivers to expect long delays.

Diversions were put in place to avoid the closures via the A34 and A303.

It is understood that the collision was caused by a driver travelling the wrong way along the carriageway.

However, National Highways announced overnight that the road had been reopened, with traffic resuming at 4am this morning.

It comes after the M5 had to be shut after a huge lorry caught fire.

HUGE BLAZE

Drivers were seen abandoning their cars in the middle of the road, with two of three lanes of the motorway closed between junction 22 at Edithmead and junction 23 at Dunball.

National Highways South West warned motorists to remain in their vehicles for safety as drivers watched thick black smoke billow into the sky.

The northbound carriageway has since reopened, but the motorway was still blocked southbound while Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue tried to put out the blaze.

In an update overnight National Highways revealed 2 out of 3 lanes remained closed on the M5 south between Junction 22 and 23.

Emergency resurfacing works were still yet to take place as a 5-mile tailback delayed drivers for an hour.

Earlier on Friday some abandoned their cars to play football on the carriageway in 9-hour queues.

Half-term in England starts this weekend until November 1, with millions of Brits going away for a break – including those hoping to get a head start on the traffic Friday morning.