Skip to main content

Britain's M1 motorway re-opens after extensive fire

One of Britain's major motorways, the M1, is now able to carry traffic in both directions between junctions 1 and 4 near London, following extensive investigation, assessment, and structural reinforcement which has taken place non-stop since Friday, 15 April.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 1 min
A UK highways Agency photograph showing the metal support structure below the M1 after the fire damage. (David Townend Photography)
One of Britain's major motorways, the M1, is now able to carry traffic in both directions between junctions 1 and 4 near London, following extensive investigation, assessment, and structural reinforcement which has taken place non-stop since Friday, 15 April.

Construction work on the bridge support, and investigations to determine what remedial work needs to be carried out following extensive fire damage in a business under an elevated section of the motorway, are ongoing.

Two lanes in each direction have been re-opened on the motorway, which links the capital with Leeds in northern England. An 11km section of the route was closed following the fire.

Drivers are still advised to check before travelling, and consider alternative routes or means of travel to their destinations as there may still be some congestion due to the reduced capacity of the road.

Related Content

  • The doors open on a record-breaking bauma China 2018
    November 22, 2018
    You can tell a lot from numbers – and this year’s bauma China exhibition is set to be a record-breaker! The exhibitor numbers represent an impressive 11% increase on the 2,958 exhibitors from 41 countries that presented their products and innovations to around 170,000 visitors at the 2016 event.
  • 2015 IRF Global Road Achievement Awards Laureate
    September 15, 2015
    Commuter traffic in the Taipei Metropolitan Area is a major concern for the city’s town planners. In 2009, a decision was reached to widen National Freeway No. 1 between Wugu and Yangmei on a 42km section of freeway on the northern part of town. The lane-widening project saw the construction of two new viaducts built along each side of the freeway. From the onset, the project presented tremendous challenges owing to various factors, including limited space for construction; passing through a geologically
  • Montreal’s new Champlain Bridge is shaping up for Christmas
    September 10, 2018
    Montreal’s Champlain Bridges - one going up, one coming down, reports David Arminas The importance of the new Champlain Bridge to Montreal and Canada can’t be overstated, given the crumbling nature of the not-so-old original Champlain Bridge. The original steel truss affair across the St Lawrence River and the adjacent St Lawrence Seaway canal is “a lifeline for residents and businesses” in greater Montréal, according to the national Auditor General - the public sector spending watchdog. “It accommodates
  • Innovative new drainage solutions will help keep roads free from water
    October 2, 2014
    An array of new technologies will help optimise road drainage and minimise flooding risks - Mike Woof reports In the UK the specialist contractor Lanes Group has carried out extensive inspection work of the drainage systems for the M6 toll route around the city of Birmingham. A powerful zoom camera has been used to carry out the inspection work for Midland Expressway, which operates and maintains the 43km-long motorway, running from Coleshill to Cannock.