The M5 motorway has reopened following a chaotic day on the major route that saw delays spanning multiple hours and some 20 miles of congestion at times. The motorway was closed in both directions on Friday (October 25) after a lorry containing hazardous chemicals burst into flames between Burnham-on-Sea and Bridgwater, at around 9.20am.
Firefighters tackled the blaze well into the afternoon and, at around 1pm, the fire was finally said to have been under control. A statement from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said: “Unfortunately the lorry and it’s contents sustained severe damage from the fire. The cause of the fire was accidental.”
The road then had to be cleared of debris, with emergency resurfacing taking place overnight. On Saturday morning (October 26) at around 2am, National Highways South West took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce: “Emergency resurfacing complete and all lanes now open on the #M5 southbound between junction 22 #Highbridge and junction 23 #Bridgwater.
“No significant delays are reported on approach, thank you for your patience.” One X user commenting below the announcement, stated that the events of Friday’s disruption on the route had taken around 17 hours to resolve in total.”
Photos taken throughout the day showed drivers getting out of their vehicles, with some even stopping to play a quick game of football before traffic began moving again. The lorry fire sent thick smoke across both carriages, with residents in the area having reported hearing “three loud bangs” at the start of the incident.
There was also a separate medical emergency on the northbound carriageway between junctions 22 and 21, which the ambulance service an air ambulance attended. The northbound stretch reopened at around 1pm, with long tailbacks back to junction 25.