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Man on bridge causes M5 closure M5 reopens after bridge incident
(about 1 hour later)
Police have shut a section of the M5 in Bristol following concerns for the safety of a man on a motorway bridge. The M5 motorway has reopened after being closed for several hours amid concerns for a man on a bridge.
Two lanes on the northbound carriageway on the Avonmouth Bridge have now been opened between junctions 18a and 19 but traffic is still expected to be slow. Police received reports of a man on the Avonmouth Bridge just before 1300 BST and shut all lanes northbound in the interests of public safety.
A 35-mile-long traffic queue had built up stretching back to junction 23 at Bridgwater in Somerset. Officers spent nearly seven hours at the scene talking to the man but he died after falling from the bridge.
The Highways Agency is supplying water to stranded motorists and hopes to set up portable toilets at junction 21. The incident left 35-mile-long queues. Three of the four northbound lanes were reopened just before 2000 BST.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police, speaking earlier, said: "We have had to close the bridge to ensure the safety of the officers at the scene. The queues had stretched back to Bridgwater in Somerset.
"We were also concerned about the very real danger of secondary accidents as motorists were being distracted." The Highways Agency supplied water to stranded motorists and had said it was planning to set up portable toilets.
The exit slip road at junction 19 on the southbound carriageway has also reopened following a small accident earlier, meaning that motorists can now access Gordano services. Assistant Chief Constable John Long, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "While many motorists were understandably frustrated and angry about the disruption and delays to their journey, the safety of everyone concerned was the paramount priority.
Northbound traffic is still being diverted away from the motorway at junction 21 for Weston-super-Mare and along the A370. "We are grateful to those motorists, their families, friends and everyone else who has been affected by this tragic incident, for their patience and co-operation."
The man has not been formally identified but is believed to be in his late 50s and to come from Bristol.
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Police have closed the M5 northbound at the Avonmouth Bridge in Bristol Traffic queues stretched for 35 miles south of Avonmouth Bridge