BRITAIN’S busiest motorway used by thousands of drivers everyday is set to close this weekend.
A section of the M25 will close from 9pm today until 6am on Monday March 10.
Traffic congestion on the M25 (stock)[/caption]
The closures are on junction 10 of the M25, near Wisley in Surrey where the motorway meets the A3, and junction 11, near Woking, in both directions.
Junction 10 is the busiest section of the M25, which sees more than 300,000 vehicles pass through each day.
National Highways has told drivers to expect delays and has urged them to complete their journeys in other ways.
British Airways has urged passengers travelling to Gatwick or Heathrow to allow extra journey time.
The closures are part of a £317m improvement works to add extra lanes.
National Highways have said this set of M25 closures will be the final ones for this project.
Last year, National Highways closed part of the motorway three times as it undergoes the multi-million pound upgrade.
The infrastructure project began in 2022 but “extreme weather” has pushed back the expected completion date to spring 2026, said National Highways.
Some elements of the project have already been completed, including the new Wisley Lane and four gyratory bridges.
National Highways senior project manager Jonathan Wade said: “We were grateful to drivers who listened to our advice during the three weekend closures last year and I’d again urge them to only use the motorway if their journey is absolutely necessary.
“Unfortunately, it’s simply not possible to carry out this scale of infrastructure improvement, which will benefit millions of people in the long-term, without there being some degree of short-term disruption.
“We have spent months planning these closures, but they will still cause significant congestion and delays, so we are asking road users to allow extra time and use alternative routes where possible.
“Please follow our official diversion routes and not information from satnavs.”
Drivers will also face closures on the same stretch of motorway from March 21 until March 24.
The final weekend closure as part of the project is scheduled to take place in a fortnight.
Following this, the A3 will be closed northbound between junction 10 and the A245 at the Cobham roundabout between 11 and 14 April.
RAC spokesperson Alice Simpson said: “Without careful planning, drivers could face some really lengthy tailbacks.
“We expect diversion routes, especially along the A3, to become heavily congested.
“Those that do decide to drive on either weekend should prepare to spend much longer on the roads and make sure they have plenty of fuel or charge for their trips.”
The March 2024 closure was the first planned daytime shutdown of the M25 since it opened in 1986.
There will be closures on the M25 starting tonight[/caption]
