Motorists faced hours of disruption on the M60 on Monday evening after police closed the motorway in both directions between Prestwich and Simister Island.
Traffic was first brought to a standstill at around 5.45pm between junction 17 at Prestwich and junction 18 at Simister Island as Greater Manchester Police and other emergency services responded to what was described as an ongoing incident.
Neither police nor National Highways confirmed the nature of the incident throughout the closure, although emergency services remained at the scene for several hours.
National Highways initially reported delays of up to 50 minutes in both directions, but congestion quickly worsened, with queues stretching back towards junctions 12 and 13.
Some motorists reported being trapped on the motorway for almost two hours.
At around 6.30pm, Greater Manchester Police urged drivers to avoid the area and seek alternative routes while officers and emergency crews carried out their work.
The motorway was officially closed in both directions shortly before 7pm, with diversion routes put in place via Bury New Road, Scholes Lane, Sheepfoot Lane and Middleton Road.
Drivers were advised to allow extra time for their journeys or delay travel where possible.
One motorist, Rik Fielding, who was travelling home from Chorley, said he had been stuck near junction 17 since around 5.30pm and watched an ambulance pass through the stationary traffic before returning to the scene.
He later reported that police began escorting stranded vehicles along the motorway at about 5mph shortly after 7.30pm.
The closure remained in place throughout the evening, with National Highways warning that disruption was unlikely to clear until after 9pm.
However, the motorway reopened earlier than expected, with all lanes reopening in both directions shortly before 8pm.
Residual delays of around 20 minutes remained as traffic gradually returned to normal.
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Earlier in the afternoon, a separate collision had been reported on the M60 anticlockwise entry slip road at junction 18 near the M66 interchange, although it was not confirmed whether this was linked to the later police-led incident.
By 9pm, traffic conditions across the affected stretch had returned to normal.
Greater Manchester Police has since confirmed that it responded to a concern for welfare, which was safely resolved.
One man, aged 34, has been arrested on suspicion of interfering with the use or operation of key national infrastructure.
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