The M25 in Surrey is set to reopen on Monday after the first planned daytime closure of the motorway, with one councillor expressing surprise at the lack of congestion during the closure.
The five-mile stretch of the motorway between junctions 10 and 11 was closed in both directions at 9pm on Friday and will remain inaccessible until 5.30am on Monday. Concerns had been raised about potential gridlock over the weekend, but traffic along the alternative route through towns like Byfleet and Woking was not as bad as feared.
Amanda Boote of Woking borough council said, “It’s actually been a lot better than we expected, it’s not gridlocked in the way that we thought it would be. Actually residents are quite happy, they’ve been sleeping well because it’s so quiet overnight.”
National Highways South-East reported that work on the closed section of the M25 is progressing as scheduled, with a new gantry being installed. This closure marks the first planned daytime closure of the M25 since it opened in 1986.
Local residents have been taking advantage of the empty motorway to take selfies, while an 11.5-mile diversion route has been put in place to redirect traffic along A-roads. The project, scheduled for completion in summer 2025, aims to increase the number of lanes at junction 10, one of the UK’s busiest and most dangerous motorway junctions.
Four more daytime closures of the M25 are planned up to September as part of the ongoing improvement project.