THOUSANDS of drivers were caught up in M62 chaos around Huddersfield.

They faced an agonising crawl to work in the morning commute yesterday after an evening crash delayed completion of M62 road works until after rush hour.

Commuters were delayed for up to three hours on the M62 because of massive congestion between junction 25 Brighouse and junction 26 Chain Bar.

Drivers were restricted to one lane due to road works.

But the affects of the closure were felt across Huddersfield as local roads buckled under the jams.

The top end of Bradford Road, near Brackenhall was jammed at around 7.30am and Bradley Bar roundabout was gridlocked down Bradley Road until around 9.00am.

Lindley Moor Road, Fixby Road and New Hey Road also ground to a halt because of the motorway backlog of traffic.

But the Highways Agency, who manage the motorway network, said the delay was caused by a crash on Sunday night which prevented finishing the planned roadworks until 8.40am on Monday.

A police spokesman said: “Police were called to a collision between a Nissan Micra and a Hyundai on the eastbound carriageway at Junction 26 Chain Bar at around 10.10pm on Sunday.

“The road was closed for three hours to allow the scene to be investigated.

“It delayed the roadworks completion and was further hampered by a broken down vehicle.”

Motorist Andrew Taylor was among many caught in the delays travelling towards Brighouse from Bradley yesterday.

He said: “It is not the cars that are causing the problems. It is ineffective traffic lights and roadworks on minor routes.

“We must ask if they are required during the M62 roadworks.

“I travelled 18 miles, did not use one motorway and it took me one hour and 40 minutes equivalent to 10.29 miles per hour.”

He called for the Highways Agency to take action to prevent further delays.

A Highways Agency spokeswoman said: “We are aware of the congestion on the M62 this morning, and although this was due to events outside of our control, we would like to apologise for the inconvenience and disruption this caused for motorists.

“Unfortunately the difficulties were the consequence of a serious accident overnight which required a full carriageway closure for around three hours while police investigations were carried out.

“This closure delayed the completion of scheduled overnight work – and meant that to ensure the safety of drivers and roadworkers, the agency was unable to fully re-open the carriageway until around 8.40am – later than anticipated. “Efforts to get traffic moving again were further hampered by a broken down vehicle between J24 and J25, which was quickly removed. The agency made every effort to complete the work as quickly as possible, but despite the best efforts of the roadwork teams, circumstances beyond our control prevented this happening as planned before the morning rush hour.”