M25 closure: How to avoid travel chaos this weekend - diversion routes and advice explained amid fears of grid-locked traffic

The five-mile stretch of the M25 in Surrey between junctions 10 and 11 was closed in both directions at 9pm last night (Friday 15 March) and will remain inaccessible until 6am on Monday (18 March) while a bridge is demolished and a new gantry installed. Concerns have been raised that thousands of drivers will be stuck in gridlocked traffic over the weekend during the unprecedented closure.

It is the first planned daytime closure of the motorway – which encircles London – since it opened in 1986. An 11.5-mile diversion route has been created to direct motorway traffic along A roads.

Drivers have been warned only to travel if necessary as the closure is expected to cause heavy congestion. But those who still need to travel have been given one piece of advice - to not use a sat-nav in the diversion area.

National Highways said drivers should only follow the official diversions when travelling around the closed-off area, which will add an hour to the usual time. It is feared that if motorists ignore the advice and use a sat-nav that the surrounding country lanes in rural Surrey could be gridlocked.

National Highways senior project manager Daniel Kittredge added: “If people move away from diversion routes that we prescribe, it creates additional issues in different parts of the road network. 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 sat-nav. Stick on the prescribed diversion route. It's going to be more suitable for your journey.”

National Highways has also advised people to consider driving around the M25 to avoid the closure. Those heading clockwise — north towards Heathrow — will leave at junction 10 and follow the northbound A3 to the Painshill junction, the A245 towards Woking and then the A320 to junction 11 of the M25.

Drivers heading anti-clockwise — south towards Gatwick — will leave at junction 11 and follow the A320 south towards Woking, the A245 towards Byfleet and the Painshill junction, and the A3 southbound to junction 10 of the M25. Drivers have been advised to avoid peak times and those heading to Heathrow or Gatwick should allow for plenty of extra time when travelling.