M25 closures: Drivers warned to leave ‘a lot of extra time for journeys’ this weekend
Byfleet is going to be very busy with traffic
Drivers have been warned to avoid the south-western portion of the M25 this weekend, as a total closure of both carriageways for upgrade work promises to bring traffic chaos to the area.
National Highways will close the London Orbital motorway from 9pm on Friday, March 15, until 6am on Monday, March 18, between junctions 10 and 11.
It is the first of five planned total closures of the busy motorway between now and September, with this weekend’s shutdown being the first time all lanes of the M25 have been out of service at once due to maintenance work.
Lengthy delays
Drivers have been told to expect “lengthy delays” in the area for the entire weekend, between junction 10 — which is where the A3 meets the M25 — and junction 11, which is the A320 Chertsey Interchange.
Diversions will be in place which involve using sections of both the A3 and A320, as well as the A245 through Byfleet. Other towns and villages likely to be affected by the diversion route include Addlestone, Woking, Sheerwater, West Byfleet and Cobham.
But National Highways says that anyone who was planning to travel in or through the affected area will have to budget for a lot of extra time in their journey — while sections of the adjacent M25 which aren’t closed are likely to be heavily tailed-back approaching the diversion route.
In fact, the body is advising that people should only use the M25 this weekend if it’s “strictly necessary”.
Busy section of busy motorway
The closures have been timed to avoid any large-scale sporting or leisure events that might be taking place near the affected section of the motorway and the environs of Greater London, but even so it’s a route many holidaymakers use to circumnavigate London on their way to Heathrow and Gatwick airports, as well as the Channel Tunnel.
On average, between 4,000 and 6,000 vehicles would pass through the affected section of the M25 every hour on weekends like the one coming up.
It is highly likely the closure of this section will affect many trunk roads and even other motorways which feed into the area, such as the M3 which interchanges with the M25 at junction 12, just to the north of the proposed closure.
Better A3 interchange planned for 2025
The reason for the closure is to do with a significant upgrade to J10, allowing traffic to flow more easily off the M25 and onto the A3, and vice versa. More lanes are being added, while a “very large” gantry is also being installed over the carriageways.
National Highways says the total closure of the motorway — rather than just coning off a few lanes at a time or setting up a contraflow — is necessary as existing bridge structures need to be demolished, and for safety reasons it cannot have any live lanes of traffic running underneath these bridges as a result.
The work will also see a heathland bridge installed, to allow wildlife to safely cross the motorway from Ockham Common to Wisley Common. National Highways hopes the scheme will be completed and opened in summer 2025.
The next planned total closure of the M25 after this one will be in April.
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