M6 lane shut '˜indefinitely' after smash

An HGV which crashed into a bridge on the M6 southbound between junction 33 at Galgate and junction 32 at Broughton on Thursday at 6.45am caused widespread gridlock across large areas of the county.

But the northbound carriageway was re-opened at 5.15am yesterday with the southbound side re-opened later.

Highways England tweeted it had “been working hard right through the night”.

The inside lane of the southbound carriageway is expected to remain closed indefinitely until a permanent repair can be made.

A spokesman said: “Our structures engineers’ priority was to secure the bridge and make it safe.

“They’re now considering what the best option is to effect a permanent repair but no decision has yet been made.”

The crash cracked the cattle bridge’s stanchion leaving the lorry as “the only thing holding it up”, police said.

The lorry driver was taken to hospital but was “doing fine”, officers said.

Police had to deliver fresh water, donated by supermarkets including Morrisons and Asda, to motorists left stranded in Thursday’s chaos.

Lancashire Road Police tweeted: “Thanks to @asda and @Morrisons for donating refreshments to those stranded and emergency services at the scene.”