THE M5 has now re-opened after a diesel spillage when a vehicle overturned led to the motorway being closed for almost a full day.

Vehicles were diverted from the southbound carriageway at junction 19 (for Portishead) of the route at around 5.30am on Sunday morning.

The motorway was closed as Highways England and police assessed the incident.

A Highways England spokesperson said the closure was due to 'a large amount of debris and fuel' being on the road, meaning it was unsafe for drivers.

Meanwhile, traffic built as the morning progressed, with some facing two-hour delays as they approached the stretch.

Chard & Ilminster News:
SPILL: At junction 19 yesterday morning. PICTURE: Highways England

However, once engineers arrived at the scene, there was bad news for frustrated drivers.

A Highways England spokesperson said at around 7.30am on Sunday: "Unfortunately, due to the severity of the damaged Tarmac, it's likely we will have to resurface the carriageway."


READ MORE: The M5 closure as it happened


It turned out all three lanes were badly damaged, and contractors got to work.

At around 5.30pm, contractors were making good progress on the resurfacing work.

Chard & Ilminster News:
HARD AT WORK: On the affected stretch of the M5

As the work progressed to repair the carriageway, people were facing delays as they made their way to Somerset of more than two hours.

But after almost 24 hours, Highways England announced the work had been completed and the carriageway was set to re-open at around 3am this morning (September 21).

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