Why parts of Leicester city centre were 'gridlocked' this morning

Lee Garrett
·2-min read
Street view of Vaughan Way in Leicester
The collision led to a series of delays in and around Vaughan Way (file picture) -Credit:Google


Major traffic delays hit Leicester this morning following a crash in the city centre. Several roads in the west of the city were blocked, as police urged drivers to avoid the area.

Traffic was backed up along major routes including Hinckley Road, Glenfield Road and Fosse Road, preventing many drivers entering the city from the west. The two-car collision happened shortly after 8am, in Vaughan Way, close to Frog Island.. Police said the crash itself was not serious, but the incident blocked four lanes of Vaughan Way, a key city artery, which had a knock-on effect for multiple other roads.

One driver told LeicestershireLive: "It took me an hour to get to my home in Leicester from Syston. I had to do a massive detour. As soon as I got near Lidl in Fosse Road, it was chocka. It was exceptionally bad. People were turning round in the street, loads of horns were honking. There were a lot of fractious drivers out there. It was like gridlock. I've never known the roads to be that bad at that time in a morning."

READ MORE: Pedestrian hit by van leading to closure of town centre roads

Area Traffic Control also warned of “severe congestion” in the wake of the crash, saying the inner ring road was blocked by queuing traffic. It added that congestion was also impacting the approach roads of the A47 Hinckley Road, as well as Aylestone Road.

Severe delays were also reported on city centre routes including St Nicholas Circle as well as Southgates Underpass. Some drivers reported being stuck in traffic for more than an hour while the collision was cleared.

A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman said no injuries had been reported, and no .arrests had been made. Vaughan Way was reopened just before 10am, but long queues still remained in the area for nearly an hour.

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