M25 closure: Drivers told to ‘only travel if absolutely necessary’ ahead of second full weekend closure

National Highways made the unprecedented move of closing the motorway in March and made good progress by demolishing a bridge and installing a gantry.

Work was completed eight hours ahead of schedule which meant the section between junctions 10 and 11 was reopened to traffic early.

The project team’s attentions immediately turned to the plans to lift into place concrete beams for the eastern gyratory bridge and another large gantry, which will involve closing a different stretch of the M25.

This work will take place during a full weekend closure between junctions 9 (A243 Leatherhead) and 10 (A3 Wisley) from 9pm Friday, May 10 to 6am Monday, May, 13, 2024.

These £317m essential works are one of five series of improvements to the M25 taking place this year, as part of the Government’s £24bn Road Investment Strategy (RIS2).

Jonathan Wade, National Highways senior project manager, said: “This is far from a repeat of the previous closure, as the alternative routes are longer and will be different for over height vehicles and all other traffic.

“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.”

The Junction 10 improvement scheme will see an increase in the number of lanes to make journeys safer and new junction layout to improve traffic flow. It will also make it easier and safer to enter and exit the M25, and reduce the pollution caused by traffic jams.

This is the second of five full weekend closures of the M25 to take place with a further three due between July and the end of the year.

National Highways and delivery partner Balfour Beatty Atkins are continuing to liaise with key stakeholders in the lead up to this closure, including emergency services, Surrey County Council, local businesses and Gatwick and Heathrow Airports.

Local residents, holidaymakers, concertgoers and sports fans should plan their journeys in advance and make sure they allow extra time or make alternative travel arrangements.

For the closure of the M25 between junction 9 A243 Leatherhead and junction 10 A3 Wisley, planned to take place during the weekend of May 11 and 12, there are four diversionary routes depending on the direction of travel and the type of vehicle. Each route will be clearly signposted.

The carriageway between junctions 9 and 11 carries between 4,000 and 6,000 vehicles per hour in each direction between 10am and 9pm on a weekend. Up to 270,000 vehicles pass through this junction each weekday and is one of the busiest stretches of road in the UK.

This phase of work needs to be carried out in May to continue the progress on the delivery of the scheme which is due to open to traffic in summer 2025.

Future closure dates are subject to change and the third one will be announced as soon as possible following completion of the works on Monday, May 13, 2024.

This next closure coincides with other ongoing improvements on our network including the installation of additional emergency areas on the M25 J23-27, M25 J5-7, M4 J10-12, M3 J2-4a and M20 J3-5. More information about these works can be found here.

Drivers can see updates on X (Twitter) by following @HighwaysSEAST

For more information about the project and the latest updates including the closures, please visit https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/south-east/m25-junction-10/.