ROAD bosses have confirmed that Britain’s busiest motorway, the M25, will not shut down for a full weekend again until 2025 despite multiple closures within weeks.
Major infrastructure works carried out in recent weeks have caused a stretch of the route, which carries around 300,000 motors a day, to grind to a halt.
The £317 million project to upgrade junctions 10 and 11 saw drivers advised to “only travel when necessary” and long queues building up on nearby A-roads.
A series of four “unprecedented” full weekend closures have been implemented in the past few months.
They marked the first time the route had been closed for planned work during daylight hours since it opened in 1975.
However, National Highways, which has been completing the works, has confirmed no similar shutdowns will be enforced for the remainder of the year.
Dubbing last weekend’s work a “complete success”, the agency said that it would not close the road again across a weekend until 2025.
More closures are scheduled as part of the junction 10 plan “in the autumn” but these will be shorter and timetabled to minimise disruption.
These will work towards installing a UK-first heathland bridge, allowing wildlife and pedestrians to cross the motorway.
The remaining two weekend closures are not expected to take place next Spring.
However, there are some ongoing closures on the M25 today thanks to different works projects.
The M40 northbound link roads both clockwise and anti-clockwise are shut for maintenance between 10pm and 6am.
Likewise, there are lane closures overnight at junctions 20, 28 and 24, as well as full carriageway closures at 27, 8 and 11 overnight for a combination of resurfacing, repair and tunnel works.
The night-time disruption on many of those junctions is set to continue into tomorrow night, with drivers advised to plan ahead and follow official diversion routes.
Jonathan Wade, senior project manager for National Highways, said: “Our advice is please only travel if absolutely necessary and make sure you give yourself extra time if you do choose to use the M25.”
It comes after millions were affected by three separate motorway closures over the weekend, leaving many stuck in long tailbacks.
