Drivers heading for the M25 this weekend face a busy schedule of overnight roadworks, with National Highways confirming a string of planned closures in both directions from Friday night through to Tuesday morning — including the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at the Dartford Crossing.
The works affect carriageways, entry and exit slip roads, and one full bridge closure. National Highways is advising motorists to plan journeys in advance and allow extra time, particularly on Saturday and Sunday nights when the biggest restrictions are in place.
Here is the full list of closures announced for this weekend, night by night.
Friday night into Saturday
Seven separate closures start at 11pm on Friday and run through the night:
- M25 anti-clockwise, junction 23 to junction 22: carriageway closure, 11pm to 5.30am.
- M25 anti-clockwise, junction 23: entry slip road closure, 11pm to 5.30am.
- M25 anti-clockwise, junction 28: carriageway, link road and both entry and exit slip road closures, 11pm to 6am.
- M25 clockwise, junction 25 to junction 26: carriageway closure, 11pm to 5.30am.
- M25 anti-clockwise, junction 25: carriageway closure between the entry and exit slip roads, 11pm to 6am.
- M25 clockwise, Clacket Lane Services: exit slip road closure, 11pm to 5.30am.
- M25 clockwise, Clacket Lane Services: entry slip road closure, 11pm to 5.30am.
Saturday night into Sunday
Saturday night brings the headline closure — the Dartford Crossing:
- M25 clockwise, Dartford Crossing QEII Bridge, junction 31 to junction 1A: full bridge closure, 9.30pm to 9am.
- M25 anti-clockwise, junction 15: carriageway closure between the exit and entry slip roads, 8pm to 10am.
- M25 clockwise, junction 25 to junction 26: carriageway closure, 10pm to 5.30am.
The bridge closure is the one most likely to affect long-distance traffic: with the southbound QEII Bridge shut overnight between junction 31 and junction 1A, crossings will be routed through the northbound tunnels, so queues should be expected on the approach roads. The crossing is one of the busiest stretches of motorway in the country, and even a single-night full closure of the southbound bridge tends to ripple into long tailbacks on both sides of the Thames — Saturday night’s 9.30pm start means the evening rush of weekend traffic heading home from the coast will feel the first effects before the closure even begins.
Sunday night into Monday
- M25 clockwise, junction 25 to junction 26: carriageway closure, 10.30pm to 5.30am.
Monday night into Tuesday
Further closures carry the works programme into Tuesday, October 27:
- M25 clockwise, junction 23 to junction 25: carriageway and slip road closures, 10pm to 5.30am.
- M25 clockwise, junction 2 to junction 3: carriageway closure, 10pm to 5.30am.
- M25 clockwise, junction 11 to junction 12: carriageway closure, 10pm to 5.30am.
A separate closure this weekend
Drivers should note that these closures are separate from the weekend closure around Heathrow, where the M25 is shut between junctions 14 and 15 — a different scheme affecting a different stretch of the motorway. Overnight traffic news is also being covered on our M25 Swanley live blog.
National Highways says the works are planned maintenance. As always with overnight closures, diversion routes will be signposted, but anyone travelling the affected stretches after 11pm is advised to check traffic information before setting off and build in extra journey time.
