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M56
🔵 Motorway

M56 Traffic News

M56 North Cheshire Motorway · Manchester (M60 J4) → Chester (M53)
Clear ⏱ Updated 23:15

M56 traffic at 23:15 on Sunday 18 October: no major incidents reported — live National Highways updates every 5 minutes, 24/7.

M56 traffic now: accidents & incidents by direction at 23:15
→ M56 eastbound traffictowards Manchester✅ No incidents reported ← M56 westbound traffictowards Chester✅ No incidents reported
🚨 0 incidents 🚧 0 roadworks · 10 soon
🔍
33 miles long
Junctions J1–J15
Regions: North West
Home › Traffic › Roads › M56

🚨 Live M56 Incidents & Roadworks

Updates every 5 min
Share M56 status: 💬 📘 X
No live incidents on the M56 right now — checking National Highways every 5 minutes, 24/7. Closures are listed below.

🌙 M56 closures tonight and the next 3 days 10

From National Highways' closure report, in their words. Times can change - check before you set off.

  • Full closure
    Eastbound M56 Eastbound Jct 7 Carriageway Closure between exit and entry slips
    Tue 20 Oct · 22:00–06:00
  • Partial closure
    Westbound M56 Westbound to M53 Northbound link road closure
    Tomorrow night · 20:00–06:00
  • Partial closure
    Westbound M56 Westbound Jct 4 exit slip road closure
    Tomorrow night · 20:00–06:00
  • Partial closure
    Eastbound M56 Eastbound Jct 5 exit slip road closure
    Tomorrow night · 20:00–06:00
  • Partial closure
    Eastbound M56 Eastbound Jct 7 entry slip road closure
    Tomorrow night · 21:00–06:00
  • Partial closure
    Westbound M56 Westbound to A50 Northbound link road closure
    Tomorrow night · 23:00–06:00
Show all 10 closures
  • Partial closure
    Westbound M56 Westbound to M6 Northbound link road closure
    Tomorrow night · 23:00–06:00
  • Partial closure
    Eastbound M56 Eastbound to M6 Northbound link road closure
    Tue 20 Oct · 20:00–06:00
  • Partial closure
    Eastbound M56 Eastbound Jct 14 exit slip road closure
    Wed 21 Oct · 21:00–05:00
  • Partial closure
    Eastbound M56 Eastbound Jct 16 entry slip road closure
    Wed 21 Oct · 21:00–05:00
All M56 roadworks & diversions →
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💥 Crash⚠️ Hazard⛔ Closure🐌 Queue
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🗺️ M56 Traffic Map — Where It's Happening

Tap a pin for full incident detail. Live positions from National Highways.

🔢 M56 Junction Status

Tap a junction for its page

🟢 Clear · 🟡 Delays nearby · 🔴 Severe/Crash · Status labels: 💥 CRASH · ❌ CLOSED · 🐌 SLOW · 🚧 WORKS · ⚠️ HAZARD

A red or orange junction border marks a STATS19 collision blackspot. Tap any junction for its own page — live incidents and full collision history. Tap the funnel to filter the list above.

📊 How busy is the M56?

The M56 carries up to 179,634 vehicles a day at its busiest stretch (J3–J4), including 7,547 HGVs — the 3rd busiest motorway in Britain. Official Department for Transport counts, 2025.

179,634
🚗 vehicles a day · J3–J4
7,547
🚛 lorries a day
2025
📅 DfT count year
4.2% HGVs
share of traffic on the busiest stretch
Busiest stretch of each motorway — vehicles a day
M25 212,636
M6 187,521
M56 179,634
M1 162,446
M8 158,065
M4 156,491
View as table
RoadBusiest stretchVehicles/dayHGVs/dayHGV share
M25 near J14 212,636 14,853 7%
M6 J20–J21 187,521 23,492 12.5%
M56 ◀ J3–J4 179,634 7,547 4.2%
M1 near J9 162,446 19,151 11.8%
M8 J16–J17 158,065 7,214 4.6%
M4 near J4 156,491 6,249 4%
Source: Department for Transport road traffic statistics, average annual daily flows 2025. Official counts, updated yearly.

📈 M56 Journey Pulse — when incidents actually happen

Measured from 70 incidents recorded on the M56 since February 2026: the riskiest window is 15:00–18:00, when 31% of incidents start. Right now (23:00) you're outside the peak window.

View as table
HourIncidentsShare
00:00–01:00 4 5.7%
01:00–02:00 1 1.4%
02:00–03:00 0 0%
03:00–04:00 4 5.7%
04:00–05:00 1 1.4%
05:00–06:00 1 1.4%
06:00–07:00 2 2.9%
07:00–08:00 0 0%
08:00–09:00 1 1.4%
09:00–10:00 4 5.7%
10:00–11:00 1 1.4%
11:00–12:00 4 5.7%
12:00–13:00 2 2.9%
13:00–14:00 4 5.7%
14:00–15:00 1 1.4%
15:00–16:00 ◀ peak 6 8.6%
16:00–17:00 ◀ peak 5 7.1%
17:00–18:00 ◀ peak 11 15.7%
18:00–19:00 5 7.1%
19:00–20:00 3 4.3%
20:00–21:00 4 5.7%
21:00–22:00 2 2.9%
22:00–23:00 2 2.9%
23:00–00:00 2 2.9%
Measured from 70 incidents recorded by this site since February 2026 (planned roadworks excluded). Recomputed nightly from our incident archive.

🧭 Along the M56

🔀 Major interchanges — where the M56 meets other roads
J1M60 J9M6 J15M53
✈️J5
Manchester Airport
Dedicated link road straight off J5
🦁J14
Chester Zoo
Follow the brown signs from J14
🔀J9
M6 Interchange
Joins the M6 at J20, beside the Thelwall Viaduct

📍 Heading to… off the M56

The places people drive to most, the M56 junction for each, and live M56 incidents nearby at 23:15.

Airport

Manchester Airport

Manchester, Greater Manchester
🛣️ M56 junction: J5
✅ No M56 incidents reported within 3 miles

UK's third-busiest airport (32.1m passengers in 2025); approach road off M56 J5

🧭 Directions M56 J5 live Greater Manchester traffic
Zoo & wildlife

Chester Zoo

Chester, Cheshire
🛣️ M56 junction: J14
✅ No M56 incidents reported within 3 miles

Major zoo with free on-site parking; it advises ignoring sat nav once on the A41

🧭 Directions M56 J14 live Cheshire traffic

⚠️ Most Dangerous M56 Junctions

Based on DfT STATS19 police collision records. The M56 has 316 recorded collisions at 14 collision hotspots, involving 457 casualties (2 fatal). Take extra care here. Ranked by fatal, then serious collisions, then casualties - not by the number of collisions alone.

#1
J2
40 collisions · 57 casualties · 1 fatal · 8 serious
Severe Blackspot
#2
J10
28 collisions · 39 casualties · 1 fatal · 8 serious
Severe Blackspot
#3
J14
32 collisions · 51 casualties · 8 serious
Severe Blackspot
#4
J12
30 collisions · 40 casualties · 8 serious
Severe Blackspot
#5
J3
31 collisions · 50 casualties · 7 serious
Severe Blackspot
#6
nr Ellesmere Port
15 collisions · 17 casualties · 5 serious
Severe Blackspot
🔍 See the full M56 collision blackspot map →

🛒 Journey Essentials

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❓ M56 Traffic — Frequently Asked Questions

Is the M56 closed today?

Any M56 closure appears in the live feed above within minutes of National Highways reporting it, including tonight's overnight roadworks closures.

Is there traffic on the M56 today?

The live feed above shows every incident, delay, roadwork and overnight closure on the M56, updated every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, from National Highways.

What is the worst time to use the M56?

The M56 is typically busiest during morning rush hour (07:00–09:30) and evening rush hour (16:30–19:00) on weekdays.

Are there roadworks on the M56 right now?

Roadworks and overnight closures on the M56 are listed above and at /traffic/m56/roadworks/, taken from the National Highways daily closure report.

What roads connect to the M56?

The M56 connects to: M60, M6, M53.

Is there an accident on the M56 eastbound or westbound today?

Each side has its own live page: the M56 eastbound (towards Manchester) and the M56 westbound (towards Chester) each list every accident, breakdown, closure and roadworks on that carriageway, updated every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, from National Highways. The panel at the top of this page shows both sides at a glance.

How many vehicles use the M56 every day?

Official Department for Transport counts (2025) record 179,634 vehicles a day on the M56's busiest stretch (J3–J4), 7,547 of them HGVs. The full breakdown and comparison chart are in the traffic statistics section above.

How busy is the M56 compared with other motorways?

The M56 has the 3rd busiest motorway stretch in Britain at 179,634 vehicles a day (DfT 2025), behind the M25's 212,636 a day at the top.

What time of day is the M56 worst for incidents?

Measured from 70 incidents recorded on the M56 since February 2026, the riskiest window is 15:00–18:00, when 31% of incidents start. The quietest is 05:00–08:00. Incidents on the M56 typically clear in about 75 minutes.

What junction is Manchester Airport on the M56?

Manchester Airport sits just off the M56 at junction 5, which has a dedicated airport link road serving all terminals.

📊 M56 Status Summary

0
Active incidents
0
Severe/serious
0
Roadworks
23:15
Last updated
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ℹ️ M56 Road Details

Length
33 miles
Junctions
J1–J15
From
Manchester (M60 J4)
To
Chester (M53)
Type
Motorway
AM Rush
07:00–09:30
PM Rush
16:30–19:00

📍 Key M56 Locations

Manchester Manchester Airport Northwich Chester

🔗 Roads Connecting to the M56

M60 M60 trafficMeets the M56 at J1 Live → M6 M6 trafficMeets the M56 at J9 Live → M53 M53 trafficMeets the M56 at J15 Live →

🛣️ M56 Services & Motorway Stops

M Lymm Services
M6 J20 · Moto · 🔋 EV View → RC Chester Services
J14 · Roadchef · 🔋 EV View → All motorway services →

🔗 Related Tools

🛣️My Commute — save your route NEW 🚧M56 Roadworks View → 🕵️Was I Affected? Check → 🔄Route Checker Plan → 📋Incident Archive Browse → 🗺️Live Map View →

📱 Follow M56 Updates

Daily M56 incidents, posted across all four channels.

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Junction

DfT STATS19 police collision records

0
Collisions
0
Fatal
0
Serious
0
Slight
🔍 Full blackspot map →
Beat the jam

Know before you go on M56

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🛣️ Save your commuteWe watch your route for you NEW 🔔 Early-warning alertsA heads-up before you set off ✈️ Telegram alertsFree · one tap to join 🎵 Daily on TikTok35,000+ followers

🚛 Car recovery along the M56

Broken down on the M56? Pick the nearest town and call a local firm direct:

On a motorway? If you can, get onto the hard shoulder or into an emergency area, leave by the left-hand doors and wait behind the barrier. Stuck in a live lane: stay in the car with your seatbelt on and hazard lights on, and call 999.

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