Drivers warned to travel ‘only if necessary’ ahead of planned M25 closure this weekend
19 March 2025, 18:09
Drivers planning to take to the M25 this weekend have been advised to ‘only travel if necessary’ ahead of the motorway's planned closure this weekend.
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National Highways has warned that a major section of the M25 will be closed from 9pm on Friday, March 21, until 6am on Monday, March 24.
The closures are set to affect those travelling too and from two of Britain's busiest airports, namely Heathrow and Gatwick.
Vehicles travelling between junction 10 (Wisley) to junction 11 (A320 Chertsey) are set to be hit by delays, with the closure forming part of a delayed £317 million project to revamp of what has become one of Britain's busiest motorways.
The closure follows scheduled plans to demolish and remove a bridge which is no longer needed over the motorway and forms part of a wider motorway upgrade plan.
The March closure of the M25 was the first planned daytime shutdown of the M25 since the motorway opened in 1986.
Diversions
Disruptive diversions are set to be in place across the weekend, with drivers re-routed along nearby A roads.
If you’re travelling around Surrey between 21 and 24 March, National Highways has warned:
- only use the motorway and surrounding roads if your journey is absolutely necessary
- allow extra time and use alternative routes where possible
- make sure you follow official diversions, not information from sat-navs.
Warnings of airport delays
Passengers travelling too and from the UK's two busiest airports - Heathrow and Gatwick - are set to be hit by delays as part of the closures.
It follows similar closures taking place across several weekends earlier this year, with fears of severe congestion on diversion routes.
However, National Highways noted that many drivers heeded warnings to stay away, meaning long hold-ups were avoided.
National Highways senior project manager Jonathan Wade said: "We were grateful to drivers who listened to our advice during the three weekend closures last year and I'd again urge them to only use the motorway if their journey is absolutely necessary.
"Unfortunately, it's simply not possible to carry out this scale of infrastructure improvement, which will benefit millions of people in the long-term, without there being some degree of short-term disruption.
"We have spent months planning these closures, but they will still cause significant congestion and delays, so we are asking road users to allow extra time and use alternative routes where possible.
"Please follow our official diversion routes and not information from satnavs."
Longterm motorway upgrade plans
The project, which started in summer 2022, forms part of wider longterm motorway upgrade planes.
The widening of the motorway is set to increase the number of lanes at Junction 10, which is one of the UK's busiest and most dangerous motorway junctions.
It was initially scheduled to be completed this summer, but will not finish until spring next year because of delays attributed to extreme weather.
The final weekend closure as part of the project is scheduled to take place in a fortnight.
RAC spokesperson Alice Simpson said: "Without careful planning, drivers could face some really lengthy tailbacks.
"We expect diversion routes, especially along the A3, to become heavily congested.
"Those that do decide to drive on either weekend should prepare to spend much longer on the roads and make sure they have plenty of fuel or charge for their trips."
