M6 reopens after lorry fire 'chaos'

The M6 northbound carriageway has reopened at junction 7 near Birmingham in time for the evening rush hour.

The highways agency says a serious HGV fire closed the northbound carriageway at Great Barr this morning, with traffic diverted between the junction 7 exit and entry slip roads.

Lane three was opened temporarily before contractors started repair of the section of carriageway damaged by the fire at 2.10pm.

All lanes were reopened on a temporary surface shortly before 4pm, with a 40mph speed restriction in place.

Highways England Operations Manager James Hawkes said:

“The vehicle fire caused significant damage to the road surface across lanes one to three and we have worked hard to get all lanes open before the evening peak.

“We have tried to keep disruption to a minimum and we thank all road users for their patience during the incident and the clear-up operation.”

The northbound carriageway will be closed from 9pm tonight until 6am tomorrow morning for the full resurfacing work to be carried out, with a diversion in place via the exit and entry slip roads