Lanes 1 and 2 closed
On the M56 right now: 1 unplanned incident. The unplanned one is a lane closure at J9 to J20 northbound.
Updated at 07:17 · refreshes every 5 min
Yes. 1 unplanned incident on the M56 right now. It's a lane closure at J9 to J20 northbound: Lanes 1 and 2 closed (since 19 min ago). 10 unplanned incidents on the M56 have been reported and cleared since midnight. The latest to clear was a lane closure at J9 to J20 northbound, reported at 06:39 and cleared by 06:55.
M56 accidents →Yes. 1 full closure is planned on the M56 tonight, starting with M56 Westbound to M53 Northbound link road closure (Tonight 21:00 to 06:00). There are also 4 lane or slip road closures.
M56 closures tonight →No. Nothing is planned to close on the M56 this weekend.
M56 closures this weekend →link road from M56 J9 eastbound to M6 J20 northbound · set on the overhead signals
Collisions, breakdowns and obstructions reported since midnight and now cleared. We check the National Highways feed every 5 minutes, so a cleared time is accurate to about 5 minutes.
link road from M56 J9 eastbound to M6 J20 northbound · set on the overhead signals
link road from M56 J9 eastbound to M6 J20 northbound · set on the overhead signals
link road from M56 J9 westbound to M6 J20 northbound/A50 · set on the overhead signals
link road from M56 J9 eastbound to M6 J20 northbound · set on the overhead signals
link road from M56 J9 eastbound to M6 J20 northbound · set on the overhead signals
link road from M56 J9 eastbound to M6 J20 northbound · set on the overhead signals
link road from M56 J9 eastbound to M6 J20 northbound · set on the overhead signals
link road from M56 J9 eastbound to M6 J20 northbound · set on the overhead signals
link road from M56 J9 eastbound to M6 J20 northbound · set on the overhead signals
link road from M56 J9 westbound to M6 J20 northbound/A50 · set on the overhead signals
M56 J5 eastbound exit for Manchester Airport
link road from Manchester Airport to M56 J5 access
link road from M56 westbound J15 to M53 northbound J11
M56 J7 eastbound access
M56 J5 westbound access from Manchester Airport
Powered by National Highways’ Transport Data Feeds
The M56 is busiest around 16:00, and at the sensors along this route it keeps moving: even in that hour traffic averages 57.7 mph.
Typical weekday pattern from 5 National Highways roadside sensors along the route, June 2026. Bar height is traffic volume, colour is average speed. Overnight hours carry too little traffic to judge, so they are shown as quiet.
Junction data © OpenStreetMap contributors
The M56 links Manchester and its airport with Chester and the North Wales coast road. Airport junctions 5 and 6 dominate the traffic pattern, and the interchange with the M6 at Lymm is a regular queue in both directions. Live incidents, roadworks and closures along the route refresh every 5 minutes.