A closure has been put in force on the A5 at Hinckley by Leicestershire Police.
Police issued an alert that the road is shut at around 5.40am, northbound on the Hammonds Way roundabout.
Around 10 minutes later this was extended to run between Dodwells Island and Lime Kilns in both directions.
A spokesman said: "We advise you find an alternative route."
Updates are below on this ongoing incident.
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Key Events
Another lorry load spilled
Away from the A5 there’s a another shed lorry load causing problems, this time on the M1.
You can follow updates on that incident here.
Traffic still bad in the area
Drivers in the area say that the traffic is still ‘chaotic’ in Hinckley.
Bus route affected
Arriva has said the 158 service from Nuneaton to Leicester is affected.
A spokesman said: “There has been a bridge strike on the A5 at Hinckley and this is causing major delays on our services, Unfortunately we do not know how long the road will be closed for but it is beyond our control. Thank you for your patience and we will try to resume normal service as soon as possible.”
And Stagecoach Midlands said: “Delays of up to 40 minutes expected on service 48 to Leicester due to overturned lorry on the A5 Hinckley. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
Police statement
A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Police said:
We received a call around 5am this morning to reports of a lorry having collided with a railway bridge in Hinckley. It doesn’t appear that the lorry driver was injured. Network Rail have been notified but there doesn’t appear to be any damage to the bridge. Highways England have put road closures in place around the scene as the vehicle needs recovery. It also appears the lorry has shed some of its load across the road.
Diversion route released
Drivers are advised to leave At at Dodwells roundabout onto B4666 towards Hinckley and follow the solid diamond symbol.
Highways have said the route not suitable for abnormal loads.
Non-HGV traffic is being diverted via local routes, either through Hinckley or Nuneaton, while HGV and freight traffic is being diverted strategically via the M6 or the M1 (via the M69), depending on the destination.
Coventry Road and Nutts Lane heavy
According to Google Traffic data, the immediate bypass for the closure, along Coventry Road and Nutts Lane, is already extremely heavy with drivers trying to get through.
Shed load
Highways also say the incident is ‘a collision involving an overturned HGV and a shed load’
Waiting on diversion details
Highways say they are on route to the area but have no official diversion planned yet.
A spokesman said: “We are checking diversion routes now. But please seek an alternative. M6, M69, M1 all clear.”
'Always a problem'
Thas, a worker at the nearby BP Garage, said he expects the closure to be in force for a while yet.
He said: “A big lorry has hit the bridge, some customers have told me, and it’s closed the road. It’s always a problem.
“They’ve still got to move the lorry, and clear all the road debris. It will maybe take a couple of hours, so we’re closed until then. It’s going to be quiet.”
Rail bridge involved
The incident is apparently further down the road from the roundaout, at the A5 Watling Street railway overbridge, near to the Veolia site.
A lorry is reported to have struck the bridge.
Area of the incident
This is the approach to the roundabout where the incident is believed to have taken place.
'Bridge strike'
Leicestershire Police has told LeicestershireLive that the incident on the A5 is a ‘bridge strike’.
The road is to remain shut ‘until further notice’.
Updates to appear here
We’ll bring you updates on this incident here as soon as we can.
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