M25 closure: 'Decorate the bathroom' - National Highways chief's advice for motorists as M25 shuts this weekend

Drivers in Sussex and Surrey have been warned of long delays – and told to only travel if ‘absolutely necessary’ – because of the first planned weekend closure of the M25 since it opened in 1968.

National Highways will shut the M25 in both directions between junctions 10 (A3 Wisley) and 11 (A320 Chertsey Interchange) from 9pm Friday, March 15 to 6am Monday, March 18 to demolish the Clearmount bridleway bridge and install a very large gantry.

National Highways has planned these closures to make sure they do not conflict with holiday periods or key events in the area.

The government-owned company's project lead, Jonathan Wade, said how well the area copes with the closure will partly depend on whether drivers stick to official diversions - but urged people to avoid travelling altogether.

He told The Independent's daily travel podcast: "Either avoid travelling completely or find something to do at home, decorate the bathroom or something, I don't know, or play in the garden. If you must go, travel by train, walk, use your bicycle.

"If you can, avoid driving anywhere around those diversionary routes."

You can find out more about the diversion routes here.

The Junction 10 improvement scheme will see an increase in the number of lanes to make journeys safer and improve traffic flow. It will also make it easier and safer to enter and exit the M25, provide safer entry roads for Wisley, Pyrford, Old Byfleet and RHS Wisley. It will also reduce the pollution caused by traffic jams.

Without a full closure of the M25 at this junction, it would be impossible to safely demolish the overbridges and install the new gantry. This work needs to be carried out now to continue the good progress on the delivery of the scheme which is due to open to traffic in summer 2025.

Concertgoers, sports fans and holidaymakers travelling to London and surrounding areas should plan their journeys well in advance and make sure they allow extra time or make alternative travel arrangements.

Those travelling to Gatwick and Heathrow airports and Channel ports may be affected.

Both National Highways and contractor Balfour Beatty have liaised with key stakeholders in the lead up to this closure including emergency services, Surrey County Council, local businesses and Gatwick and Heathrow Airports.

Those affected by closures have been also been notified in advance nearby event venues have also been kept up to date with this latest information on the project and associated closures both on the M25 and A3.

How can I keep up to date with the latest traffic information during the closure?

Drivers can use real-time traffic information for England’s motorways at trafficengland.com as well as X (Twitter) updates by following @NationalHways. Any closures will also be visible on satellite navigation.

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

Click here for more information on the closure of the M25.

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