M1 closed for more than 12 hours after collision which saw lorry overhanging A14 in Northamptonshire

A stretch of the M1, as well as adjoining link roads, were closed for more than 12 hours on Monday (April 24) after a lorry collided with a barrier and was left overhanging the A14.

The incident happened shortly after 5am on the southbound carriageway between junction 20 for Lutterworth and junction 19 for the A14 and Catthorpe.

By 6am, National Highways warned drivers that the road would be closed for "most of the day” due to the “nature of the collision and complex recovery work”.

During the morning rush hour, there were miles of queues and up to 45 minutes of delays on the M1 and A14.

Recovery of the vehicle was complete by 10am, but emergency repair works to the barrier had to be carried out so the road remained closed.

At around 3pm, the link road from the A14 west onto the M6 north reopened, but the M1 southbound and the M6 south onto the A14 remained closed until around 6.20pm.

As the closure was lifted, National Highways tweeted: “Thanks for your patience throughout this incident. All closures have been lifted on the #M6 southbound onto the #A14 eastbound and the #M1 southbound between J20 to J19. Delays are clearing rapidly. Safe onwards journey this evening.”

Earlier in the day, Leicestershire Police confirmed that the driver of the lorry left the vehicle safely and was not injured.