M1 reopens following huge lorry fire near Leeds

The M1 motorway has reopened this morning following overnight road repairs after a huge lorry fire just outside Leeds yesterday.
M1 fireM1 fire
M1 fire

The lorry caught fire on the hard shoulder of the motorway at junction 42 near Leeds at around 4.06pm yesterday (Wednesday).

Four crews were called to the site to deal with the incident and the southbound carriageway was closed to motorists as large plumes of black smoke billowed into the air.

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Damage to the road surface. PIC: Highways EnglandDamage to the road surface. PIC: Highways England
Damage to the road surface. PIC: Highways England
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The surface of the motorway was also damaged by the blaze, which forced the carriageway closure overnight so repairs could safely be carried out.

But this morning, Highways England tweeted to say those repairs had been completed and the road was open as usual.

The tweet said: “UPDATE M1 Southbound J42

“The overnight works to repair the road surface that was damaged during this fire have now been completed. The road is now fully open, thank you for your patience!”

Delays of up to 90 minutes were recorded along with a tailback of traffic of around five miles.

A witness described hearing “Four huge explosions” at the time of the fire.