Chaos on M62 as drivers abandon cars and get stuck for…

Chaos on M62 as drivers abandon cars and get stuck for up to SEVEN HOURS in snow blizzard

Snow plunged the M62 into chaos overnight as drivers got stuck for up to SEVEN hours and some even abandoned their cars in the blizzards.

As temperatures plunged to below freezing overnight and snow fell over the Pennines near Greater Manchester, stretches of the motorway were shut off leaving drivers stuck in huge queues of traffic with miles of tailbacks. Strong winds also caused highways officers to close off lanes on both carriageways of the M62 near Rochdale.

Just before 3am, one driver Zoe tweeted a picture of long queues ahead on the M62 and said: "After 3.5 hours moving at a snail pace you finally think you're making progress.

"Then you see this ahead.. yeah I'm going nowhere! M62 + snow = FML." In a later tweet, she said it took four hours to get off the motorway.

At around 3.30am, Naomi Roberts tweeted: "4 hours to reach J22 - lorries broken down and cars abandoned on the other side... turns in to one lane and just a sheet of ice."

Follow live snow and traffic updates here

Snowy conditions on the M62 overnight (@zoe_dawn_p)

Some drivers are still stuck this morning, with the chaos expected to continue into rush-hour. In a tweet posted at 6.11am, Jessica Baker said: "Been stuck on #M62 for hours now! This is ridic!"

"She described the scenes as 'carnage'. Another tweet posted by Simon Peach at 6.20am this morning said: "If you are thinking of using the M62 this morning, I wouldn’t advise it. I’ve moved around 15 miles in six hours."

And in another tweet, one person posted: "7 hours on the m62 and still going! where are the gritters?!!!"

According to traffic alert service Inrix, 'severe delays' remain in both directions on the motorway this morning from junction 21 for Milnrow to junction 22 for Rishworth Moor. One lane is closed on either side with traffic still stationary.

There is also one lane closed due to the snow on the westbound carriageway at junction 24 for Ainley Top. A Met Office amber snow warning for parts of Greater Manchester and across the Pennines remains in place until 12pm today.

A yellow warning for snow also remains in place until 2pm. More light snow is forecast to fall over Manchester at around 9am, before conditions settle later this afternoon.

A statement issued by National Highways this morning said: "National Highways is advising drivers that lane closures remain in place on the M62 in Greater Manchester while work continues to treat the carriageway with gritters and ploughs. Heavy snowfall caused hours of delays between junctions 21 (Milnrow) and 22 (Denshaw) in the early hours of the morning and lane closures were put in place in both directions.

"Work has been ongoing around the clock, although gritters and ploughs were hampered in their efforts by some road users illegally blocking the hard shoulder and Red-X lanes. Lane 1 is still closed eastbound, with eight miles of congestion and 90-minute journey delays.

"Lane 1 is also closed westbound, where there is one mile of congestion and 10-minute delays. After yesterday’s severe weather alert National Highways staff spent the day spreading salt on key routes in preparation for the testing conditions.

"The alert continued into this morning. National Highways is asking everyone travelling in the region to consider if their journey is essential and to go prepared.

"Further information is available from National Highways by visiting www.trafficengland.com and the Twitter account @HighwaysNWEST. For urgent real-time assistance, our 24/7 contact centre team is able to provide up-to-the minute information on 0300 123 5000."

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