Three lanes were closed as emergency road surfacing repairs had to take place
15:01, 18 Aug 2025Updated 15:08, 18 Aug 2025
National Highways carries out emergency road surfacing repairs to the M5 near Avonmouth Bridge(Image: national Highways / X)
A faulty bridge joint on the M5 near Bristol caused 14 miles of congestion and three lanes to be closed yesterday (Sunday, August 17).
Due to what was initially described by National Highways as an “infrastructure defect” on the Avonmouth Bridge, there were severe delays between junction 19, for Portishead, and junction 18, for Avonmouth, on the northbound carriageway.
A repair of the bridge was needed, however this took longer than hoped due to the heat.
Due to safety reasons, the repair closed three lanes for the majority of the day.
National Highways said that the bridge, which was affected by closures since 10.30am yesterday, was eventually fully reopened at 8.54pm.
National Highways carries out emergency road surfacing repairs to the M5 near Avonmouth Bridge(Image: national Highways / X)
A spokesperson for National Highways said: “Three lanes on the northbound carriageway of the M5 between junctions 19 and 18 were closed for emergency repairs after engineers found a faulty bridge joint.
“A full repair of the bridge joint was required for safety and lanes 1 to 3 were closed.
“Due to warm temperatures, the tarmac took longer to cure than usual, with the road fully reopened at 8.54pm.”
Repairs took place on Avonmouth Bridge.(Image: national Highways / X)
The “infrastructure defect” had caused 14 miles of congestion for drivers, who faced delays of several hours throughout the day, stretching into the evening.
National Highways had issued guidance to motorists advising those driving to “allow plenty of extra time”.