Motorists face weekend chaos as M25 closure enters third day

Motorists are expected to face further travel chaos after one of Britain’s busiest motorways shut over the weekend.

An estimated 100,000 drivers crawled along a 12-mile diversion on the first day of the roadworks between junctions 10 and 11 of the packed M25.

The stretch connects Heathrow Airport to the South of England, with aerial pictures capturing the road with no traffic in the first planned daytime shutdown since 1986.

The roadworks, which involve demolishing a bridge and putting up a giant gantry, triggered five mile-long, single-file queues on the road approaching the closure.

The road is not expected to reopen until 6am on Monday. It will close again in April and three more times during the busy summer months.

Follow below for live updates.

Another day of disruption to come

07:45 , Will Mata

Good morning! The closure of the M25 between junctions 10 and 11 remains in place on Sunday.

National Highways South East has said: Bridge demolition works have continued throughout the night.

“Expect delays throughout today. We continue to urge you only to use the M25 and diversions if your journey is necessary.”

From yesterday…

07:49 , Will Mata

Here are some of the headlines from Satuday…

Parts of M25 in Surrey see two miles of congestion

M25 closure: Drivers face miles of tailbacks with more disruption to come on Sunday

Story continues

Tom Cruise offers ‘to fly Mission Impossible cast and crew over closed M25’

Traffic beginning to build at Wisley interchange

08:37 , Will Mata

The first signs of traffic have been spotted on Sunday morning, with minor delays seen at the Wisley interchange.

Junction 10 of the M25 is the southernmost point of the closure of the motorway.

There appear to be clear roads otherwise, as of 8.35am.

‘Minimal delays so far onto A3’

08:40 , Will Mata

National Highways has said that there are minimal delays for anyone using junction 10 to connect to the M3.

“Due to the time of day there are minimal days approaching J10 for the A3 on the clockwise carriageway this morning,” the official account said in reply to a tweet.

The body has said: “Call 0300 123 5000 and one of our contact centre team members will be happy to check your route for you.”

3km tailbacks now on M25 approaching J10

09:18 , Will Mata

There is now traffic stretching back for around 3km on the M25 up to junction 10.

Live data shows that the queuing has gone beyond the Horsley Road junction and that it could take a while to pass through.

‘Workers making good progress’

09:23 , Will Mata / PA

Workers have made “good progress” on the M25 in Surrey amid the motorway’s first planned daytime closure.

The five-mile stretch of the motorway between junctions 10 and 11 was closed in both directions at 9pm on Friday and remains inaccessible until 6am on Monday while a bridge is demolished and a new gantry installed.

Concerns had been raised that thousands of drivers would be stuck in gridlocked traffic over the weekend during the unprecedented closure on the south-west of the orbital route, with one councillor calling it a “nightmare”.

Congestion stretched for two miles on Saturday morning, according to National Highways South-East (NHSE), and the estimated average journey time through the diversion route was 25 minutes.

‘Traffic has not been as bad as feared’

09:27 , Will Mata

Amanda Boote, of Woking Borough Council, told the PA news agency that traffic along the new route through the towns of Byfleet, West Byfleet, Woking and Ottershaw was not as bad as feared.

National Highways said on Saturday it had made good progress during the first night of work, as it shared an image on X, formerly Twitter.