A fuel spillage in Chiswick caused hours of delays during the morning rush hour on Tuesday October 25 as the M4 was closed towards London until after 2pm.
The eastbound carriageway was closed between J3 A312 at Hayes and the J1 A4 Chiswick Roundabout, and the A4 was also closed at the Hogarth Roundabout while resurfacing work took place.
Motorists reported taking three hours to move one mile.
The Highways Agency said a lorry ruptured its fuel tank causing the major spillage, damaging the carriageway and causing hours of road closures.
Even celebrity chef James Martin was caught up in the chaos, calling the M4 the "road to hell."
Transport for London handled the maintenance with the clean-up operation lasting until the middle of the afternoon.
Good news came at around 1.50pm after resurfacing work on the A4 Hogarth Lane was finished and the road reopened in both direction.
The M4 eastbound closure was finally lifted at around 2.20pm but some delays were still expected as the built up traffic eased, in time for the evening rush.
Highways England tweeted at 2.26pm: "#M4 E/B closure lifted. Please allow time for delays to ease.
"Safe travels this afternoon."
