Motorists on the motorway are experiencing significant delays this morning due to a closure of all four lanes in a section of the road, disrupting bank holiday traffic flow. The M1 between junctions J11 and J10 faced severe disruption earlier today following a road traffic collision, according to Traffic England. Emergency response teams, describing the incident as a “serious collision,” have been deployed to the scene.
Although all lanes on the M1 southbound between J11 and J10 at Luton are now open after an earlier collision, there are ongoing delays of about 10 minutes compared to normal traffic. National Highways traffic alerts have reported delays of up to 50 minutes. The situation is expected to improve between 10:15am and 10:30am, with two out of four lanes currently open.
A two-vehicle crash involving a car and a motorbike occurred on the M1 southbound after J11 A505, as reported by traffic information provider Inrix. Three lanes remain closed, with only one lane open as authorities handle the situation. National Highways has indicated that traffic is moving through one lane between J11 and J10, with delays reaching 45 minutes from J11a.
The road closure between junctions 10 and 11 was initiated around 07:45am, leading to warnings of 30-minute delays and the implementation of diversions. Drivers are being rerouted off the M1 onto the A505 and A5 through Dunstable. The East England Ambulance Service is currently present at the scene, and the incident has been classified as a “serious collision” by National Highways.
The disruption is particularly affecting travelers heading to Luton Airport, given the proximity of the incident to the airport. The Easter holiday weekend has been projected to be one of the busiest in years, with an estimated 20.3 million vehicles expected on the roads on Easter Saturday, according to predictions by the RAC. With millions of motorists hitting the roads, concerns about fuel shortages, long queues, and high prices at the pumps have been raised.
