The M5 was closed in both directions early on Monday morning, May 18, after a police-led incident between J31 at Shillingford Abbot and J30 at Exeter. National Highways said there was no current estimated time for reopening.
Traffic reports said the closure, which began at around 4.30am, affected both directions of the motorway between J30 A376 Sidmouth Road near Exeter’s service areas and J31 at the A38 Okehampton turn off. National Highways said there were currently no delays on approach, but six diversions were already in place depending on where motorists were travelling from and to.
Four of those diversions were for northbound traffic, reflecting the scale of the disruption on one of Devon’s main routes. The road closure came as emergency services worked at the scene, and there was no immediate indication of when the motorway would fully reopen.
For drivers heading through the area, the key point is simple: the M5 was still shut, the diversions were active, and there was no published reopening time. Until that changes, the safest assumption is that journeys between Exeter and the stretch north of J31 will take a different route.
