A review of safety measures on Scammonden bridge will take place after a man threatening to jump off it closed the M62 for seven hours at the weekend.

The bridge, which stands 120ft high over the M62, has been the location of several people’s attempts to jump off it in recent years – some ending in tragedy.

The railings stand just 1.2m (3ft 11ins) high – and Saturday’s incident led to questions about whether the safety could be improved.

Highways England (formerly the Highways Agency) is responsible for the bridge and a spokeswoman said: “The closure of the motorway at the weekend was unavoidable. It was requested by the police for safety reasons while they dealt with an incident on the bridge.

“We worked closely with the police to re-open the motorway as quickly as possible and will be reviewing the safety measures currently in place on the bridge to ascertain what can be done to avoid similar incidents in the future.”

They confirmed that no other authority, such as the police, local councils or Samaritans, had ever requested the height of the railings to be increased.

Nor could they comment on the extent of the backlogs, which saw motorists stuck in miles of queuing traffic and diversions. Thousands were stuck on the New Hey Road moorland road and many people missed holiday flights from Manchester Airport.

The incident took place just after 5am on Saturday when a man was spotted on the bridge between junctions 22 and 23.

Specially-trained officers were sent to the scene and he was led to safety just before midday.

During and after the incident West Yorkshire Police’s road traffic officers had urged understanding, writing on Twitter: “Thank you to all motorists who were patient throughout this incident and for understanding. We don’t close a motorway unnecessarily.

“Remember that a quarter of the population will suffer some form of mental health problem. It is an illness that many don’t know they have.”

Four people died after jumping or falling from the bridge between 2006 and 2012, with further incidents since where police led vulnerable people to safety.