M25 closures – stay: Drivers warned to steer clear this weekend as five miles of junctions closed until Monday

Drivers have been urged not to use Satnavs whereas a five-mile stretch of the M25 is closed whereas a bridge is demolished and a brand new gantry is put in.

National Highways senior challenge supervisor Daniel Kittredge stated utilizing the expertise might create “additional issues” on the motorway.

“If people move away from diversion routes that we prescribe, it creates additional issues in different parts of the road network,” he stated.

“The majority of the time that will be local roads, so that really impacts residents in those particular areas.

That’s why we’re trying to encourage people to not follow the satnav. Stick on the prescribed diversion route. It’s going to be more suitable for your journey.”

Drivers are being urged to ignore satnavs to stop inflicting gridlock throughout an “unprecedented” closure of the M25 this weekend.

National Highways issued the alert as it prepares to shut a five-mile stretch of the motorway in Surrey from 9pm on Friday until 6am on Monday.

The firm estimates that drivers who observe indicators for diversion routes on A-roads can have an hour added to their ordinary journey occasions between junctions 10 and 11, which can be shut in each instructions.

Jonathan Wade, senior challenge supervisor for National Highways, advised The Independent: “It’s not going to be a particularly pretty picture over the coming weekend: there aren’t any immediately obvious diversionary routes.

“ Please, if you can either avoid travelling completely, find something to do at home – decorate the bathroom or something or play in the garden.

“If you must go: travel by train, walk, use a bicycle.

The diversion route involves the A3, the A245 and the A320.

Mr Wade urges: “Avoid driving anywhere around those diversionary routes around Painshill, Byfleet, West Byfleet on on the eastern side of Woking. It will be in your interests.”

To make issues worse, some native practice strains are closed for engineering work – with passengers warned that rail alternative buses might take even longer as a result of of getting caught up in excessive site visitors jams.

Listen to The Independent’s journey podcast with Jonathan Wade – the person who’s closing the M25

St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey urged individuals to “only visit if it is necessary” this weekend.

It stated in a press release: “Please be aware of the diversions that will be in place and that there is likely to be considerable congestion in the local area.

“Please plan your journey allowing extra time as it is likely to take longer than usual.”

Some faculty sports activities fixtures scheduled for this weekend in Surrey have been postponed as a result of of the M25 closure.

Councillors whose wards are on the diversion route expressed considerations about what is going to occur.

Malcolm Cressey, of Runnymede Borough Council, stated: “I think it’s going to be a difficult period but we have to sort out those bridges.

“I think it’s going to be very disruptive.

“I would certainly urge anybody to try and avoid the area.

“It could end up with all sorts of gridlock in our area.”

Tahir Aziz, of Woking Borough Council, stated: “We’ve never experienced something like this before.

“It will have a significant impact in this area.

“It will cause huge disruption and delays, and a lot of traffic jams.”

Simon Calder advises on different route between Heathrow and Gatwick airports:

The straightforward choice is to take the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow to Farringdon in central London, which has a direct connection to Thameslink trains. The journey time is about 90 minutes.

Maddeningly, National Rail doesn’t provide fares for the entire journey. The resolution is to purchase one ticket from Heathrow to East Croydon and one other from there to Gatwick. The whole single fare is £22.30.

National Highways stated it had “spent months planning for these closures and making sure there are diversion routes in place” – nevertheless it admits that there’ll nonetheless be heavy congestion and delay.

The diversion takes motorists alongside the A3, the A245 and the A320 – and drivers are being urged to stick to the official route reasonably than following their satnav.

“If people move away from diversion routes that we prescribe, it creates additional issues in different parts of the road network,” stated Daniel Kittredge, National Highways senior challenge supervisor.

“The majority of the time that will be local roads, so that really impacts residents in those particular areas.”

RAC breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: “With the M25 closures and the Easter getaway both falling in March, it could be a month of double traffic trouble for drivers trying to get around London or access Gatwick and Heathrow.

“Despite fair warning, the reality is most holidaymakers seeking to use either airport will have booked their trips months ago and will have to leave a lot more time to get there – not least because the most obvious diversion routes are likely to get extremely congested.

“If you do plan to drive between the 15th and 18th, we recommend starting your car to test its battery health well in advance of travelling and remembering FORCES to check the Fuel, Oil, Rubber, Coolant, Electrics and Screen wash before making any long journey.”

The partial closure of the M25 in each instructions will trigger ‘carnage’ in Surrey this weekend as site visitors is diverted between Junction 10 and Junction 11 of Britiain’s busiest motorway.

From 9pm on Friday 15 March to 6am on Monday 18 March, site visitors can be diverted off a five-mile stretch of the M25 to allow the demolition of a bridge and the set up of a brand new gantry. It is the primary time for the reason that M25 was opened in 1986 that there was a full closure of all lanes.

National Highways have requested drivers to keep away from the realm in the course of the closure. But with 5,000 autos per hour usually passing between Junctions 10 and 11 at weekends, native residents and enterprise house owners are anticipating standstill site visitors and sleepless nights.

A number one railway determine has provided some recommendation to travellers who threat being caught up within the M25 closure over the weekend, Simon Calder writes.

Mark Hopwood, managing director of Great Western Railway, advised The Independent’s every day journey podcast: “There isn’t, sadly, a railway equivalent of the M25 so we can’t necessarily replicate all the journeys – but actually one of the great things in London at Farringdon is you can interchange from the Elizabeth Line to Thameslink in about 45 seconds.”

The central London station of Farringdon will permit anybody coming from Heathrow airport or Reading on the Elizabeth Line to change to a Thameslink practice to Gatwick airport, Brighton, Luton airport or Cambridge.

“I think people will find that they could maybe make their journey by train and do it in a decent amount of time,” the GWR boss stated.

“If you’ve ended up on one of those strange flight itineraries where you need to get from Heathrow to Gatwick, you can do that quite easily.”

Mr Hopwood was talking on the unveiling of a revolutionary new battery-powered practice for a line in west London.