Is the M25 open? Busy motorway in Surrey reopens eight hours ahead of schedule after major works

One the UK's busiest motorways has reopened eight hours ahead of schedule following planned works over the weekend.

The M25 was closed from 9pm on Friday, March 15 for a five-mile stretch between junctions 10 and 11 in Surrey. The closure, which was the first daytime closure of the motorway since it opened in 1986, was announced to allow teams to demolish a bridge and install a new gantry on the route.

The normally-busy motorway had been due to reopen at around 6am on Monday, March 18. However, it was announced at just after 10pm on Sunday, March 17 that the road had reopened in time for the Monday morning rush hour. The National Highways South-East (NHSE) said on X (formerly Twitter): “We’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone for your patience and following our travel advice.”

Drivers had been warned in advance of build up and delays on some routes as a result of the closure. This resulted in a 50% reduction in normal traffic around the area, resulting in minimal disruption from the closure, with the worst of the weekend traffic stretching around two miles.

Amanda Boote, of Woking Borough Council, said: “It’s actually been as lot better than we expected, it’s not gridlocked in the way that we thought it would be. It was built up a bit, but no different to how it might normally be. Actually residents are quite happy, they’ve been sleeping well because it’s so quiet overnight.”

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The M25 London Orbital is normally one of the UK's busiest motorway routes, carrying between 4,000 and 6,000 vehicles in both directions every hour from 10am until 9pm each weekend.

This closure was part of larger planned works, with four more daytime closures expected up to September. The works will get underway to increase the number of lanes at junction 10.