Highways England has said sorry to drivers stuck in a traffic jam on a stretch of the M62 in West Yorkshire because signs incorrectly told them three lanes were shut.

The signs did not turn off after overnight roadworks were carried out between Huddersfield and Brighouse so only one lane was open.

“#M62 westbound J27 #Gildersome to J25 #brighouse there are currently long delays due to 3 lanes (of 4) being closed just west of J25. There is a technical fault preventing the signals from being cleared. Engineers are working to resolve the fault,” tweeted HE.

An hour later a follow-up tweet confirmed “#M62 J25 #Brighouse westbound the gantry which was showing lane 1/2/3 closure has been switched off and all lanes are now open to traffic. There are still long delays from J27 #Gildersome. We are sorry for the delays which have been caused by this technical fault.”

One person tweeted back that “smart motorways are a joke,” but that person was swiftly corrected by Highways England who pointed out that this is a traditional section with a hard shoulder.

(File picture – Google Streetview)