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M56 traffic at 15:26 on Tuesday 3 November: 1 closure tonight.
From National Highways' closure report, in their words. Times can change - check before you set off.
Checked 15:26 on Tuesday 3 November 2026.
No. There is no full closure on the M56 at 15:26.
No. No incidents are reported on the M56 at 15:26. 2 roadworks entries are on the board above.
Yes. The M56 has 1 full closure planned tonight (Tue 3 Nov, 18:00 to 06:00): eastbound jct 7 to 6 carriageway closure, 22:00 to 06:00. Plus 3 lane or slip road closures.
Tonight: M56 closures and diversions ›Yes. The M56 has 2 full closures planned this weekend (Fri 6 Nov 18:00 to Mon 9 Nov 06:00): Westbound Jct 7 to 9 carriageway closure, Sat 22:00 to 05:00; and Westbound Jct 7 to 9 carriageway closure, Sun 22:00 to 05:00. Plus 8 lane or slip road closures.
This weekend: M56 closures and diversions ›No. No collision has been reported on the M56 since midnight.
M56 accidents today and yesterday ›Answers use official data only: the National Highways live incident feed and their planned closure report. Times can change, so check before you set off.
Tap a pin for full incident detail. Live positions from National Highways.
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| Feature | Free summary | Early Warning |
|---|---|---|
| When you hear | Once a day | As it builds |
| Queues and congestion | Major incidents only | On your roads |
| Your own alert hours | No | Yes |
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🟢 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.
The M56 carries up to 179,634 vehicles a day at its busiest stretch (J3–J4), including 7,547 HGVs — the 3rd busiest motorway in Britain. Official Department for Transport counts, 2025.
| Road | Busiest stretch | Vehicles/day | HGVs/day | HGV 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% |
Measured from 81 incidents recorded on the M56 since February 2026: the riskiest window is 15:00–18:00, when 28% of incidents start. Right now (15:00) you're inside that window.
| Hour | Incidents | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00–01:00 | 4 | 4.9% |
| 01:00–02:00 | 1 | 1.2% |
| 02:00–03:00 | 0 | 0% |
| 03:00–04:00 | 4 | 4.9% |
| 04:00–05:00 | 1 | 1.2% |
| 05:00–06:00 | 1 | 1.2% |
| 06:00–07:00 | 4 | 4.9% |
| 07:00–08:00 | 1 | 1.2% |
| 08:00–09:00 | 2 | 2.5% |
| 09:00–10:00 | 5 | 6.2% |
| 10:00–11:00 | 2 | 2.5% |
| 11:00–12:00 | 4 | 4.9% |
| 12:00–13:00 | 3 | 3.7% |
| 13:00–14:00 | 5 | 6.2% |
| 14:00–15:00 | 2 | 2.5% |
| 15:00–16:00 ◀ peak | 7 | 8.6% |
| 16:00–17:00 ◀ peak | 5 | 6.2% |
| 17:00–18:00 ◀ peak | 11 | 13.6% |
| 18:00–19:00 | 6 | 7.4% |
| 19:00–20:00 | 3 | 3.7% |
| 20:00–21:00 | 4 | 4.9% |
| 21:00–22:00 | 2 | 2.5% |
| 22:00–23:00 | 2 | 2.5% |
| 23:00–00:00 | 2 | 2.5% |
The places people drive to most, the M56 junction for each, and live M56 incidents nearby at 15:26.
UK's third-busiest airport (32.1m passengers in 2025); approach road off M56 J5
Major zoo with free on-site parking; it advises ignoring sat nav once on the A41
Based on DfT STATS19 police collision records. The M56 has 613 recorded collisions at 15 collision hotspots, involving 965 casualties (5 fatal). Take extra care here. Ranked by fatal, then serious collisions, then casualties - not by the number of collisions alone.
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This is the M56 traffic news page from UK Traffic Updates: M56 traffic now, for the whole road from Manchester (M60 J4) to Chester (M53). Every crash, breakdown, lane closure, delay and roadworks National Highways report for the M56 is listed at the top, checked every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, with the worst on the sign and where it is: the nearest towns and the county.
National Highways has closed its Traffic England website, so the live M56 information people used to check there is here in one place: today's M56 incidents, M56 closures tonight from their daily closure report, M56 roadworks, M56 accidents today, the junction-by-junction status and a live map. Our M56 traffic videos show what it looks like on the road, and drivers can report what they see as it happens.
Want M56 traffic updates sent to you? Pick the free daily road summary or Early Warning alerts for the roads you drive. For every other motorway and A-road, see live UK traffic now.
Any M56 closure appears in the live feed above within minutes of National Highways reporting it, including tonight's overnight roadworks closures.
The live feed above shows every incident, delay, roadwork and overnight closure on the M56, updated every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, from National Highways.
Every live incident on the M56 — police incidents, obstructions, breakdowns, debris, collisions and closures — appears in the live feed above within minutes of National Highways reporting it, updated every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day.
The M56 is typically busiest during morning rush hour (07:00–09:30) and evening rush hour (16:30–19:00) on weekdays.
There are currently 2 active roadwork schemes on the M56. Check the live feed above for exact locations and durations.
The M56 connects to: M60, M6, M53.
Right here. This M56 traffic news page shows M56 traffic now: every live incident, delay, closure and roadworks National Highways report, updated every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, with tonight's planned closures, junction-by-junction status and a live map. For M56 traffic updates sent to you, sign up on this page for the free daily road summary or Early Warning alerts for the roads you drive.
Each side has its own live page: the M56 eastbound (towards Manchester) and the M56 westbound (towards Chester) each list every accident, breakdown, closure and roadworks on that carriageway, updated every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, from National Highways. The panel at the top of this page shows both sides at a glance.
Official Department for Transport counts (2025) record 179,634 vehicles a day on the M56's busiest stretch (J3–J4), 7,547 of them HGVs. The full breakdown and comparison chart are in the traffic statistics section above.
The M56 has the 3rd busiest motorway stretch in Britain at 179,634 vehicles a day (DfT 2025), behind the M25's 212,636 a day at the top.
Measured from 81 incidents recorded on the M56 since February 2026, the riskiest window is 15:00–18:00, when 28% of incidents start. The quietest is 00:00–03:00. Incidents on the M56 typically clear in about 63 minutes.
Manchester Airport sits just off the M56 at junction 5, which has a dedicated airport link road serving all terminals.
Daily M56 incidents, posted across all four channels.
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Broken down on the M56? Pick the nearest town and call a local firm direct:
On a motorway? If you can, get onto the hard shoulder or into an emergency area, leave by the left-hand doors and wait behind the barrier. Stuck in a live lane: stay in the car with your seatbelt on and hazard lights on, and call 999.