ONE of the main travel arteries between Scotland and England was closed on Tuesday night due the wintry weather conditions.
The M74 Motorway was blocked at Junction 12 (Milton) on the southbound carriageway.
Seven HGVs lost traction, which resulted in Police Scotland holding all vehicles further north.
Traffic Scotland tweeted at 6pm that the M74 southbound Junction 12 at Millbank was closed.
It was still closed at 7pm, with estimated queues of at least 11 miles.
At around 8.30pm, Traffic Scotland updated that lane three was open with lanes one and two remaining closed to recover vehicles.
Transport Scotland issued an update at 9pm advising drivers to still avoid the area.
It tweeted: "Gritters are working hard in the area to get traffic moving and make the area safe. Thank you for your patience Please avoid the area and #StaySafe."
*UPDATE* 21:10⌚️️#M74 S/B J12 Millbank
— Traffic Scotland (@trafficscotland) January 16, 2018
Gritters are working hard in the area to get traffic moving and make the area safe. Thank you for your patience ❤️
Please avoid the area and #StaySafe https://t.co/lOuhffP5jf
Drivers vented their frustration on Twitter throughout the evening as they were stuck without moving for upward of four hours.
M74 NB standstill.. jackknifed lorries.. #safetravels pic.twitter.com/FuxvOauftT
— Jaimie (@jaimieduff80) January 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/jaimieduff80/status/953277473525043200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2018
M74 almost impassable north bound at Abington pic.twitter.com/BlYE8r8NlI
— Eddie Reid (@TGI_eddiereid) January 16, 2018
One driver travelling to Glasgow from England said there were queues stretching back at least ten miles on the southbound carriageway of the M74 as dozens of abandoned cars and lorries had led to "utter gridlock" with reports of thundersnow.
"It actually looks like the motorway was shut down.
"I don't know when the snow plough was out on the M74 but by the looks of it has to be a few hours.
"It all seems to start between Crawford and Douglas going south on the M74. It is definitely thundersnow. There is virtually no snow falling now but I have seen so many flashes of lightning.
"I have seen dozens of abandoned cars, abandoned lorries, it is just utter gridlock.
"They look like they have been there for a long time. I have seen trucks blocking all three lanes of the carriageway.
"I would not be surprised if the queue was 20 miles long, all the way back to Glasgow.
"I have seen one snow plough, one police car, and I just heard the traffic report saying that the police say they will get to you eventually.
"But they are telling you not to stop. I am bursting for the loo, but I am not stopping, because if you do, your chances of getting started again if you pull into the hard shoulder are probably nil."
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf tweeted: "Seems a number of HGVs have lost traction with challenging weather impacting on M74. Long queues and delays. Necessary to close the junction to get additional gritters and equipment to the scene."
Seems a number of HGVs have lost traction with challenging weather impacting on M74. Long queues and delays. Necessary to close the junction to get additional gritters and equipment to the scene https://t.co/Z4trUEcHy2
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) January 16, 2018
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "As warned earlier today, and since Friday, heavy snow is making its presence felt across much of the country. All agencies are working extremely hard to keep traffic moving or get traffic moving again where drivers, particularly HGVs are having difficulty gaining traction on the hills.
"The difficulty when traffic does build up is for the gritters to get through the traffic to the problem area. Every available vehicle is out in these challenging conditions trying to get traffic moving.
"The Resilience Room and MART are monitoring activity and Traffic Scotland is providing constant updates on conditions."
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