- M25 will close in both directions between J9 and J10 this weekend
- Drivers will be forced to embark on a 19-mile diversion and should avoid the area
Brits have been warned to brace themselves for holiday hell this summer as the UK’s busiest motorway is set to shut in August.
Jonathan Wade a senior project manager for National Highways announced that the next closure of the M25 is planned to take place during the month of August, but also voiced his worries that this will be ‘peak holiday season.’
It will be the third of five weekend closures of the London orbital motorway as part of a £317million project to improve junction 10 this year, and Mr Wade added they are already working with ports, airports and transport operators to try to limit the damage to holidaymakers.
Between 4,000 and 6,000 vehicles normally use the M25 between junctions nine and 11 in each direction every hour from 10am until 9pm at weekends.
He told the Telegraph: ‘The next one is scheduled for August. That’s still to be confirmed, but at the moment it’s been planned for August. At that time, you’re obviously into peak holiday season.’
Click here to resize this module
However a spokesperson for National Highways reiterated: ‘Any future closure dates are yet to be confirmed and any that are announced are subject to change.’
This comes ahead the M25 closing in both directions between Junctions 9 and 10 in Surrey this weekend while concrete beams for a new bridge and a gantry are lifted into place.
While the previous work in March was said to be ‘easy’, the work expected this weekend will be much more ‘complex’ and concerns have been raised about more opportunities for things to ‘go wrong’.
Drivers will also be forced to embark on a 19-mile diversion – nearly double the length of the diversion in March.
Mr Wade said: ‘The opportunities for the job taking longer are considered real. Last time we had to demolish a bridge and build a gantry. This time [we are] lifting into place quite carefully a total of 72 beams.’
Previously motorists were asked to stay at home and ‘decorate the bathroom or something’, National Highways are asking people to do the same again.
Mr Wades said: ‘Drivers listened to our advice last time which reduced motorway traffic levels by over two-thirds and meant delays were limited.
‘Our advice again is please only travel if absolutely necessary and make sure you give yourself extra time if you do choose to use the M25.’
Among the people affected will be those travelling to, from and between the UK’s two busiest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick.
The closure last month was the first planned daytime shutdown of the M25 since it opened in 1986.
The clockwise diversion route, for those travelling from Gatwick towards Heathrow, will see drivers told to leave the M25 at junction eight for the A217 Reigate.
They should then follow the ‘A217 London, Sutton, (A240) Kingston’, and then after just over three miles turn left onto the ‘A240 Epsom, Kingston’.
After three miles, at the Esso roundabout they should turn right onto the ‘A24 (A240) Kingston’ and continue for three miles then turn left onto the ‘A3 Portsmouth, Guildford’.
They must then continue for nearly ten miles to the M25 and re-join the motorway at junction ten.
In the other direction, the anticlockwise diversion route from Heathrow towards Gatwick will see traffic leave the M25 at junction ten to join the A3 towards London.
After nearly ten miles at the Hook interchange, motorists should leave the A3 turning right onto the ‘A240 Epsom, Reigate’.
They must then continue for three miles to the Esso roundabout and turn left onto the ‘A240 Reigate’ – before driving for another three miles then turning right onto the ‘A217 Reigate, M25’. After just over three miles they will turn left to re-join the M25 at junction eight.
National Highways said it was working with its delivery partner Balfour Beatty Atkins to liaise with the emergency services, Surrey County Council, local businesses and Gatwick and Heathrow airports in the lead up to the next closure.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.