National Highways announced shortly before 4pm on Sunday that all lanes on the M56 had been reopened – nearly 24 hours after emergency works sparked their closure.

Earlier on August 18, the organisation had warned of “severe delays” on the M56 following the prolonged closure of two out of three lanes. 

Emergency repairs that started shortly before 6pm on Saturday, August 17, had sparked chaos on the M56 in Cheshire eastbound between J14 (Ellesmere Port) and J12 (Runcorn).

At the peak of the disruption, National Highways warned of delays of more than 90 minutes, with seven miles of congestion on approach.

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