UK’s busiest motorway shuts in BOTH directions all weekend due to delayed £317m project – check map of diversion routes
THE UK’S busiest motorway has shut in both directions all weekend due to work on a delayed £317million project.
Drivers can check the National Highways map of diversion routes below to plan their journey.
The M25 will shut for the fifth and final time this weekend.
Junctions 10 for Wisley and junction 11 for Chertsey in Surrey closed at 9pm on Friday and will remain shut until 5.30am on Monday.
Diversion routes on A-roads are in place during the 56-and-a-half hour closure, allowing National Highways to destroy and remove an old bridge.
The bridge’s purpose was made redundant following work to update the gyratory at junction 10 to reduce congestion.
It comes as part of a £317m project to add extra lanes to improve safety and cut congestion where the motorway meets the A3.
Work originally started in 2022 and was scheduled to finish by this summer.
However, delays bosses have attributed to “extreme weather” will mean the work won’t finish until spring next year.
Ultimately, the works are intended to make it easier and safer to enter and exit the M25. And to provide safer entry roads for Wisley, Pyrford, Old Byfleet and RHS Garden Wisley.
Those travelling to, from and between Heathrow and Gatwick are likely to be among the worst affected.
It comes after more than 1,300 flights were cancelled from Heathrow Airport after a blaze sparked carnage.
The fire knocked out an electricity substation in Hayes late on Thursday evening.
However, flights have since resumed at the west London airport on Friday evening following hours of closure.
BA, which has a major presence at Heathrow, was the worst affected by yesterday’s shutdown.
The airline said it expects to operate around 85 per cent of its scheduled flights at the airport on Saturday.
It would usually expect to run nearly 600 departures and arrivals on Saturday but it is understood cancellations will be made, where possible, to high-frequency routes.
A spokesman said: “We are planning to operate as many flights as possible to and from Heathrow on Saturday, but to recover an operation of our size after such a significant incident is extremely complex.
“We expect around 85 per cent of our Saturday Heathrow schedule to run, but it is likely that all travelling customers will experience delays as we continue to navigate the challenges posed by Friday’s power outage at the airport.”