Accident on M61: traffic news after school coach in crash near Bolton

An air ambulance was called out today after a school coach was involved in an accident on the M61 near Bolton.

The accident happened when the coach struck the central reservation close to junction 5 at Westhoughton at around 10.30am today (22 March). The North West Air Ambulance attended due to the location and lanes 2 and 3 were closed northbound, but fortunately there were no reports of significant injuries and no-one needed to be airlifted to hospital. It is not known how many people were on board but it is believed alternative transport was arranged.

The crash led to tailbacks of over three miles of tailbacks towards near Farnworth and National Highways North West bosses advised of delays of up to 30 minutes. The closures are also causing slow traffic through Little Hulton and on the A6 Blackrod Bypass as drivers seek alternative routes. One southbound lane (lane 3) was also closed between Westhoughton and Farnworth.

National Highways tweeted around 11.30am: “The M61 within J5 (Westhoughton), lanes 2 and 3 (of 3) are closed northbound, and lane 3 (of 3) is closed southbound due to a collision. There is currently approx. 3.5 miles of congestion on approach, causing delays of 30 minutes above usual journey times.”

The northbound closures were still in place at 2.30pm this afternoon, with more updates expected.