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Date: Thu 13 Mar 2025
M6 crash underlines need for resilient road surfaces
This week’s closure of the M6, following a major diesel oil spill after a lorry crashed into the central reservation, underlines the need for a resilient road surface and robust barriers for Britain’s busy motorway network.
On Monday 11th March a lorry smashed into the central reservation on the M6 northbound between J31 and J32 near Preston. The lorry’s fuel tank ruptured and this resulted in a major diesel spillage across the motorway. All four lanes of the motorway had to be closed overnight for emergency resurfacing. In addition, two lanes of the southbound motorway were closed. This resulted in significant traffic gridlock delays in the area particularly during the evening rush hour.
Fuels damage asphalt road surfaces as the asphalt binder softens leading to aggregate loss and the need for replacement. Concrete road surfaces are less susceptible to the effects of fuel spillage and do not require replacement. Cleaning the concrete road surface using solvents is usually sufficient. This resilience is why concrete is the preferred choice for airport taxiways and aprons which are potentially exposed to jet fuels.
The robustness of concrete was proven by the M6 incident. The lorry collided with the concrete barrier and prevented a dangerous crossover accident. This is why concrete barrier is the default option for motorways where the average annual daily traffic level is 25,000 vehicles per day.
Joe Quirke, Chairman of Britpave, infrastructure industry association said: “We have long advocated the use of concrete for the UK motorway network for both road surfaces and barriers because of its unmatched long-term performance and minimum maintenance benefits. Incidents such as that on the M6 underlines the material’s inherent resilience and robustness which means that after a major accident concrete roads can be quickly re-opened to traffic rather than having to be replaced.”