M25 opens fully eight hours ahead of schedule as roadworks finish in boost for British drivers

17 March 2024, 23:42

The M25 has reopened eight hours early - after the key route's major work completed ahead of time.

The M25 was shut between junctions 10 (A3 Wisley) and 11 (A320 Chertsey Interchange) in Surrey at 9pm on Friday evening and was expected to open back up until 6am on Monday.

But drivers have been given a reprieve as National Highways announced that the key road is fully reopened at 8pm on Sunday night.

The early finish is likely to avoid expected delays on Monday rush-hour as a boost for British motorists.

Drivers had been warned only to travel if necessary as the closure caused heavy congestion.

Surrey Highways reported congestion through Byfleet, West Byfleet, Woking and Ottershaw during the closure.

The misery was compounded after a multi-car collision on the road between J5 and J6 near Sevenoaks on Saturday evening.

They did however suggest that the roads near the closure were "general coping" with the added congestion caused by the unprecedented disruption.

Pedestrians were seen taking photographs of the eery empty roads near Byfleet.

Driver numbers were said to be lower than expected on the Surrey side-roads on Saturday.

The turn off for Hatchford was reportedly the pinchpoint of the major tailback, with motorists seeking alternative routes despite being warned this could lead to gridlock in the surrounding villages.

West Byfleet councillor Amanda Boote warned that if people use their sat-navs instead of following official diversions it could send the local village into lockdown.

She told LBC: “Potentially 6,000 vehicles in an hour all coming through this lovely village.

“And they will use all of these side roads because the sat-navs will tell them ‘oh, if you use this kind of side road it might be a bit quicker’, then the whole village will have to go into lockdown’.”

It marks the first time in history that the motorway has been closed during the day for roadworks, with around 6,000 vehicles an hour set to be detoured off the M25 and on to local A roads.

Matthew Wright and LBC's Joseph Draper on the M25 closure

A local dry-cleaner business owner also told LBC it means they woulf have to cancel dozens of orders on their busiest day of the week.

He said: “We do pick up and drop off, so we need to cancel the pick up and drop off at the weekend, which is the busiest time for us usually.

“So that’s going to be definitely cancelled, we’re going to customers and say we can’t do any pick up or deliveries over the weekend.”

It comes after Project leader at National Highways, Jonathan Wade, said that people should “find something to do at home” rather than travel this weekend.

"Please, if you can either avoid travelling completely, find something to do at home – decorate the bathroom or something, or play in the garden," he said.

"If you must go, travel by train, walk, use a bicycle. I don't mind really what you do.

"Avoid driving anywhere around those diversionary routes around Painshill, Byfleet, West Byfleet on the eastern side of Woking. It will be in your interests."

Laura Frankland, 51, who lives in the village of Send, told the Times: "It’s going to be horrific."

She added: "I care for my mother who lives in a different village and I have to drive every day. But not this weekend.

"We are going to be staying home — it’s going to be lockdown for the weekend. We’ve done the shopping early … it’s going to be bumper-to-bumper everywhere in Surrey."

The closure is in place to allow the demolition of a bridleway bridge and installation of a large gantry.

It is the first of five closures between now and September.

National Highways said the improvement scheme will lead to an increase in the number of lanes to "make journeys safer and improve traffic flow".

They added it will make it easier and safer to enter and exit the M25 and provide safer entry roads for Wisley, Pyrford, Old Byfleet and RHS Wisley.

They said it will also reduce the pollution caused by traffic jams.