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M6

M6 Traffic News

M6 Motorway · Rugby (M1 J19) → Carlisle (A74(M))

M6 traffic at 04:01 on Monday 12 October: road closed southbound until 06:00 · 2 live incidents · 5 closures tonight.

🔵 Motorway Road Closed 🚨 2 incidents 🚧 10 roadworks · 53 soon ⏱ Updated 04:01
232 miles long
45 junctions
Regions: West Midlands, North West, North West England
Home › Traffic › Roads › M6

🚨 Live M6 Incidents & Roadworks

Auto-refresh 3 min 2
🛑 ROAD CLOSED
M6 southbound Jct 6 entry link from Salford Circus carriageway closure (E/A)
Southbound · Closed until 06:00 9 hours
Diversion: Diversion via National Highways and local authority network.
All M6 closures & diversions →
🔴 Road Closed on the M6 📍 2 incidents · 🚧 10 roadworks
Share M6 status: 💬 📘 X
🐌 Minor 4min
M6 Northbound J11
near Cannock
↑ Northbound
Reported 02:16 · 1h ago
🐌 Minor NEW 2min
M6 Southbound J37–J35
near Kendal
↓ Southbound
Reported 02:36 · 1h ago
← swipe · 2 live
📢
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💥 Crash⚠️ Hazard⛔ Closure🐌 Queue
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📹 Latest M6 videos

7 clips · 31K followers on TikTok
M6 COLLISION | SB | CLOSED AT J31 (Samlesbury / Ribble Valley / A59) LANCASHIRE | NEAR: Blackburn | Chorley | Clitheroe | Longridge First reported after 12:00 BST | 09-OCT-26 Active | Road Closed SB | Severe Delays | 90+ Min Delays | Expected clear ~13:20 BST The M6 southbound is closed
M6 COLLISION | SB | 2 of 3 LANES CLOSED J19 (Knutsford / Northwich / A556) – J18 (Holmes Chapel / Middlewich / A54) CHESHIRE | NEAR: Congleton | Sandbach | Alderley Edge | Altrincham First reported before 07:00 BST | 09-OCT-26 Active | Long Delays | 50+ Min Delays | Rush Hour Chaos | Exp
M6 COLLISION | SB | 2 of 3 LANES CLOSED J7 (Great Barr / Perry Barr / A34) – J6 (Gravelly Hill / Spaghetti Junction / A38(M)) WEST MIDLANDS | NEAR: Walsall | Sutton Coldfield | West Bromwich | Handsworth First reported after 10:00 BST | 08-OCT-26 Ongoing as of 11:30 BST Active | Long D
Follow @uk_traffic_updates for live M6 incident videos →

🗺️ M6 Traffic Map — Where It's Happening

Tap a pin for full incident detail. Live positions from National Highways.

🔢 M6 Junction Status

Tap a junction for its page

🟢 Clear · 🟡 Delays nearby · 🔴 Severe/Crash · Status labels: 💥 CRASH · ❌ CLOSED · 🐌 SLOW · 🚧 WORKS · ⚠️ HAZARD

A red or orange junction border marks a STATS19 collision blackspot. Tap any junction for its own page — live incidents and full collision history. Tap the funnel to filter the list above.

📊 How busy is the M6?

The M6 carries up to 187,521 vehicles a day at its busiest stretch (J20–J21), including 23,492 HGVs — the 2nd busiest motorway in Britain. Official Department for Transport counts, 2025.

187,521
🚗 vehicles a day · J20–J21
23,492
🚛 lorries a day
2025
📅 DfT count year
12.5% HGVs
share of traffic on the busiest stretch
Busiest stretch of each motorway — vehicles a day
M25 212,636
M6 187,521
M56 179,634
M1 162,446
M8 158,065
M4 156,491
View as table
RoadBusiest stretchVehicles/dayHGVs/dayHGV share
M25 near J14 212,636 14,853 7%
M6 ◀ J20–J21 187,521 23,492 12.5%
M56 J3–J4 179,634 7,547 4.2%
M1 near J9 162,446 19,151 11.8%
M8 J16–J17 158,065 7,214 4.6%
M4 near J4 156,491 6,249 4%
Source: Department for Transport road traffic statistics, average annual daily flows 2025. Official counts, updated yearly.

📈 M6 Journey Pulse — when incidents actually happen

Measured from 424 incidents recorded on the M6 since February 2026: the riskiest window is 13:00–16:00, when 20% of incidents start. Right now (04:00) you're outside the peak window.

View as table
HourIncidentsShare
00:00–01:00 5 1.2%
01:00–02:00 6 1.4%
02:00–03:00 5 1.2%
03:00–04:00 6 1.4%
04:00–05:00 8 1.9%
05:00–06:00 14 3.3%
06:00–07:00 23 5.4%
07:00–08:00 21 5%
08:00–09:00 21 5%
09:00–10:00 25 5.9%
10:00–11:00 21 5%
11:00–12:00 29 6.8%
12:00–13:00 25 5.9%
13:00–14:00 ◀ peak 30 7.1%
14:00–15:00 ◀ peak 28 6.6%
15:00–16:00 ◀ peak 28 6.6%
16:00–17:00 20 4.7%
17:00–18:00 28 6.6%
18:00–19:00 15 3.5%
19:00–20:00 11 2.6%
20:00–21:00 13 3.1%
21:00–22:00 20 4.7%
22:00–23:00 12 2.8%
23:00–00:00 10 2.4%
Measured from 424 incidents recorded by this site since February 2026 (planned roadworks excluded). Recomputed nightly from our incident archive.

🧭 Along the M6

🛣️
M6 Toll — the paid Birmingham bypass
27 miles from J3A (Coleshill) to J11A (Wolverhampton), opened December 2003. Pricing is zonal.
Car, full route£12.00
Car with Breeze account£10.20
Length27 miles
Free alternativeM6 J4–J11 through Birmingham
M6 Toll prices (reviewed quarterly) ↗
Prices verified from m6toll.co.uk, 25 Sep 2026 — the operator reviews them quarterly.
🍝J6
Spaghetti Junction
Gravelly Hill Interchange (1972) — five levels, 18 routes
🏟️J6
Villa Park
Aston Villa — exit J6, signposted Birmingham NE
🏟️J3
CBS Arena
Coventry City, 800 yards from J3 via the A444
🌉J20–J21
Thelwall Viaduct
Twin bridges over the Manchester Ship Canal

⚠️ Most Dangerous M6 Junctions

Based on DfT STATS19 police collision records. The M6 has 2,061 recorded collisions at 53 collision hotspots, involving 3,214 casualties (61 fatal). Take extra care here.

#1
nr Lymm
104 collisions · 162 casualties · 4 fatal · 17 serious
Severe Blackspot
#2
nr Walsall
158 collisions · 238 casualties · 4 fatal · 15 serious
Severe Blackspot
#3
J3A
53 collisions · 84 casualties · 3 fatal · 17 serious
Severe Blackspot
#4
J18
50 collisions · 92 casualties · 3 fatal · 9 serious
Severe Blackspot
#5
J10
73 collisions · 107 casualties · 3 fatal · 6 serious
Severe Blackspot
#6
J10A
33 collisions · 55 casualties · 3 fatal · 6 serious
Severe Blackspot
🔍 See the full M6 collision blackspot map →

🛒 Journey Essentials

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❓ M6 Traffic — Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is the M6 closed today?

Yes — the M6 is closed right now: M6 southbound Jct 6 entry link from Salford Circus carriageway closure (E/A), until 06:00.

Q: Is there traffic on the M6 today?

The M6 is closed right now: M6 southbound Jct 6 entry link from Salford Circus carriageway closure (E/A), until 06:00. Check the live feed above for every closure on the route.

Q: What is the worst time to use the M6?

The M6 is typically busiest during morning rush hour (07:00–09:30) and evening rush hour (16:00–19:30) on weekdays.

Q: Are there roadworks on the M6 right now?

There are currently 10 active roadwork schemes on the M6. Check the live feed above for exact locations and durations.

Q: What roads connect to the M6?

The M6 connects to: M1, M5, M42, M54, M56, M61, M65, A74(M).

Q: How many vehicles use the M6 every day?

Official Department for Transport counts (2025) record 187,521 vehicles a day on the M6's busiest stretch (J20–J21), 23,492 of them HGVs. The full breakdown and comparison chart are in the traffic statistics section above.

Q: How busy is the M6 compared with other motorways?

The M6 has the 2nd busiest motorway stretch in Britain at 187,521 vehicles a day (DfT 2025), behind the M25's 212,636 a day at the top.

Q: What time of day is the M6 worst for incidents?

Measured from 424 incidents recorded on the M6 since February 2026, the riskiest window is 13:00–16:00, when 20% of incidents start. The quietest is 00:00–03:00. Incidents on the M6 typically clear in about 67 minutes.

Q: How much is the M6 Toll?

A car pays £12.00 for the full 27-mile M6 Toll route between J3A and J11A around Birmingham, or £10.20 with a Breeze account. Shorter zonal trips cost less. Prices are reviewed quarterly by the operator, so check m6toll.co.uk before travelling. The un-tolled M6 through Birmingham (J4–J11) remains free.

📊 M6 Status Summary

2
Active incidents
0
Severe/serious
10
Roadworks
04:01
Last updated
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ℹ️ M6 Road Details

Length
232 miles
Junctions
45
From
Rugby (M1 J19)
To
Carlisle (A74(M))
Type
Motorway
AM Rush
07:00–09:30
PM Rush
16:00–19:30

📍 Key M6 Locations

Rugby Coventry Birmingham Stafford Stoke Knutsford Manchester Wigan Preston Lancaster Carlisle

Junction

DfT STATS19 police collision records

0
Collisions
0
Fatal
0
Serious
0
Slight
🔍 Full blackspot map →
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