Photos show the extent of queues building on the M1 as revellers head to Download Festival at Donington Park. Throughout the morning delays have been building on the northbound carriageway, to exit the motorway at Junction 23A and Junction 25, with motorists told to expect waits of at least two hours.
Congestion has now spread to Junction 25 southbound, with commuters now queueing on the M1, near Long Eaton, and other roads near the park itself. The campsites and campervan field for the annual rock festival opened at 12pm on Wednesday with the entertainment taking place between Thursday, June 8, and Sunday, June 11.
National Highway East Midlands said: “Severe congestion remains on all approaches to the M1 J23a and J24 as a result of traffic heading towards Download Festival, delaying journey times by at least two hours. Allow plenty of time if heading to the festival or East Midlands Airport.”
The A50 in Castle Donington heading eastbound is also heavily congested. According to traffic monitoring site Inrix, there are queues between Junction 1 for the B6540 Tamworth Road, Rycroft Road, London Road (Long Eaton) and junction 24 of the M1, the A6 and A453 (Kegworth / East Midlands Airport). Travel time is 15 minutes.
The A42 is also heavily congested, with delays of up to 45 minutes northbound. There are also severe delays and queueing traffic on the A453 Walton Hill in both directions around Donington Park. There’s also congestion to surrounding routes including through Melbourne and Diseworth.
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13:58Daniela Loffreda
Delays of at least two hours
National Highway East Midlands said: “Severe congestion remains on all approaches to the M1 J23a and J24 as a result of traffic heading towards Download Festival, delaying journey times by at least two hours. Allow plenty of time if heading to the festival or East Midlands Airport.”
13:43Daniela Loffreda
Traffic across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire
12:15Daniela Loffreda
Traffic conditions worsen
Drivers are now queueing from Junction 25 southbound to Junction 23a.
11:35Daniela Loffreda
A detailed look at traffic conditions
Areas in red show where traffic is slow.
11:34Daniela Loffreda
Heavy traffic on A453 heading towards Donington Park
Heavy traffic continues to build in the area and the M1 near junctions 23a and 24 remains congested.
Traffic is also building on the A453 near East Midlands Aiport, heading towards Donington Park.
Commuters can also expect delays southbound, with slow traffic on the M1 from Pride Lake, near Sawley.
11:09Daniela Loffreda
‘Long delays’ for Trent Barton customers
11:00Daniela Loffreda