AN OVERTURNED lorry has now been removed and a section of the M62 near Oldham reopened following the clearing of a 'substantial' diesel spill across all lanes.
Traffic was backed up for five miles with hour delays earlier today as recovery work continued into the afternoon.
Please be aware there are long delays on the #M62 between J19 and J21 approaching the closure at J21. There is approx. 5 miles of congestion which is likely to add around 60 mins onto usual journey times. pic.twitter.com/uZ8wihYpuW
— Highways England (@HighwaysNWEST) January 20, 2021
The stretch eastbound between Junction 21 for Milnrow and Shaw had been shut to Junction 22 for Denshaw since this morning.
All the closures were removed by 5.15pm.
Highways England, in an online update, said a car had also crashed into the central barrier and come to rest in lane four.
It added: "Both incidents have caused large spillages of diesel to spread across the carriageway.
"Traffic officers are on scene with specialist recovery agents."
It said the closure had been expected to remain 'for some time' due to the 'complex recovery required' and that the carriageway would need to be treated before it could reopen.
Pictures show recovery team working to clear the scene.
A tweet from Highways England just before midday said there was a 'substantial diesel spillage' across all lanes at the scene.
It added: "We're in the process of organising extra resources to assist in turning around any vehicles stuck inside the closure."
#M62 #J21 to #J22 - Road remains closed following an overturned lorry and a substantial diesel spillage across all lanes at the scene. We're in the process of organising extra resources to assist in turning around any vehicles stuck inside the closure pic.twitter.com/0wZhBNxCwe
— Highways England (@HighwaysNWEST) January 20, 2021
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