The M5 motorway near Bristol has reopened after a tipper truck smashed into an overhead gantry.
The GTI Transport vehicle was travelling in the southbound carriageway when it clipped the gantry at around 8.20am during Thursday’s rush hour, causing the truck’s bed to become lodged vertically against it after being separated from the cab.
The crash caused around an hour of delays to journey times and forced the motorway’s closure in both directions between J17 for Cribbs Causeway and J18 for Avonmouth for around nine hours.
The northbound carriageway reopened at 5.20pm on Thursday evening, with the southbound following on Friday morning.
Neither the driver of the truck nor anyone else was hurt in the incident, according to National Highways, but extensive damage was done to the gantry’s electronics and signage as cables were severed.
At least one sign attached to the structure fell onto the road and hydraulic fluid also spilt onto the carriageway.
The same stretch of road will now be temporarily shut down for 12 hours from 8pm on Saturday night until 8am on Sunday morning while the overhead structure is removed in order to avoid a repeat incident.
The J17 southbound entry slip road will likewise close on Friday evening as electrical cabling is removed.
“We’re working quickly so as to get the technology and signage back on that section of the motorway,” National Highways said.
Investigators have said that any relevant dashcam footage shot by drivers near the scene would be “gratefully received”, although police began issuing tickets to motorists caught using their phones while driving as they passed the crash site on Thursday.
In a statement, a police spokesperson said: “We understand the lorry joined the M5 at junction 17 and are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed the collision or the vehicle in the moments leading up to the incident.
“If you can help our enquiries, please call 101 and give the call-handler reference number 5223050000.”
“It was just carnage, it was lucky there were no casualties as the motorway was very busy,” delivery driver Carar Tyer told the BBC at the scene.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
