The chaos caused by a major oil spill caused at least three crashes and closed a major North Yorkshire road for 48 hours.
The interchange at Junction 44 of the A1 / A64 reopened on Saturday after the ‘substantial’ spillage.
But one lane remains closed due to emergency repairs. The lane closure is on approach to the roundabout from the A64 in both directions, as well as on the roundabout itself.
North Yorkshire Police on Friday night said the vehicle responsible for the spill had left the scene.
And soon afterwards the slippery conditions led to three crashes.
Police are now appealing for the public’s help with their investigation.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “At 11.10am on Thursday, police received a report of an oil spill.
“Officers arrived and found a large quantity of of oil on the road but the vehicle which has caused the spillage had left the scene.
“Before officers were able to close the road three vehicles were involved in separate collisions which are believed to have been caused by the slippery surface.
“Police are now requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
“In particular, officers are appealing for anyone that witnessed the spillage or anyone who has dashcam footage to come forward.”
If you can help police, you can contact them on the numbers at the foot of this story.
Some repairs will take till Monday
National Highways have this evening issued an update about the continued road closure.
It says junction 44 of the A1M (Bramham Interchange) is expected to remain closed throughout this evening and overnight following the fuel spillage.
The A64 westbound approaching junction 44 also remains closed from the A162 near Tadcaster, with A64 westbound traffic being diverted down the A162 to join the A1M at junction 42 (Selby Fork).
The spillage, which occurred yesterday morning, has affected all lanes around the roundabout, causing damage to the road surface.
All exit and entry slips from the roundabout also remain closed; however, the fast slip from the A1M northbound to the A64 eastbound is open.
In the meantime, drivers planning to travel in the area are advised to allow extra time for their journeys or avoid the area if possible.
The statement says: “National Highways was alerted to the incident at around 11.20am yesterday (Thursday). Specialist services have been at the scene to treat the spillage, with partial resurfacing carried out on the eastern side of the roundabout last night.
“The outside lane of the roundabout is due to undergo resurfacing overnight, with the aim of reopening this lane tomorrow morning.
“Lane 1 of the A64 eastbound from the roundabout, and the southbound exit slip from the A1M onto junction 44 will also be resurfaced.
“Resurfacing on the inside lane of the roundabout, lane 2 on the A64 eastbound from the roundabout, the A1M southbound entry slip at junction 44 and Paradise Way is due to be resurfaced during tomorrow.
“Further resurfacing is due to take place on the roundabout and slip roads during the weekend and into Monday. Further updates will be shared in due course.”
How to help the police
- Call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for Jack Dodsworth
- Email FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME here
- Contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via the website
- Quote reference number REF_NUMBER