Drivers using the M25 are facing a weekend of disruption, with a wave of planned closures hitting carriageways, slip roads and key motorway links from Thursday night through to Monday morning.
National Highways has confirmed the works will run from Thursday, 8 October to Sunday, 11 October, severing or restricting connections with the M3, M23 and M40 at various points. The restrictions range from overnight shutdowns to a single exit slip road that stays closed for the entire weekend.
Motorists are being urged to check their routes before setting off and to allow extra time for every journey that touches Britain’s busiest motorway.
Thursday night: four closures start the weekend
The weekend’s works begin on Thursday night, with four restrictions running into the early hours of Friday.
The clockwise carriageway and slip road between junction 22 and junction 23 will be closed from 10pm until 5.30am. Between junction 16 and junction 17, the clockwise carriageway and link road shut from 10pm until 6am, on a stretch close to the motorway’s interchange with the M40.
Further round the orbital, the clockwise carriageway, link road and both exit and entry slip roads between junction 27 and junction 28 will be out of action from 10pm until 5.30am.
Drivers heading for the M3 should note the fourth closure: the link road between M25 junction 12 and M3 eastbound junction 2 will be closed in both directions from 10pm until 5.30am.
Friday night: seven closures, including the M23 link
Friday night is the busiest of the programme, with seven separate restrictions – one of which runs all the way through to Monday morning.
The clockwise carriageway and slip road between junctions 22 and 23 close again, this time from 11pm until 5.30am on Saturday, while the clockwise carriageway and link road between junctions 16 and 17 shut from 10pm until 6am. The anticlockwise exit slip road at junction 6 will be closed from 11pm until 5.30am.
The M3 link is hit again too: the link road between M25 junction 12 and M3 eastbound junction 2 closes in both directions from 11pm until 6am.
Gatwick-bound drivers need to pay attention: the link road between M25 junction 7 and M23 northbound and southbound junction 8 will be closed from 11pm until 6am on Saturday.
In north London, the northern quadrant of the junction 25 roundabout will be shut from 11pm until 6am.
And then there is the big one: the clockwise exit slip road at junction 11 will be closed from 8pm on Friday until 5am on Monday – a full weekend-long shutdown.
Saturday night: M40 connections severed
Saturday night brings four restrictions, and this time it is the M40 links that take the hit.
Both the clockwise and anticlockwise link roads to M40 northbound will be closed from 11pm until 5am on Sunday, cutting a key route for drivers heading north-west out of London.
Elsewhere, the anticlockwise carriageway between junction 25 and junction 23 will be closed from 10pm until 6am, while the clockwise exit slip road at junction 11 remains shut until 5am on Monday.
Sunday night: the final restrictions
Two restrictions are listed for Sunday night. The clockwise exit slip road at junction 13 will be closed from 10.30pm until 5.30am on Monday, while the weekend-long closure of the clockwise exit slip at junction 11 finally ends at 5am on Monday, 12 October.
The junction 11 closure: the one most likely to catch drivers out
Of all the restrictions, the junction 11 exit slip road is the one most likely to catch drivers unawares. Unlike the overnight works, it runs through daylight hours on Saturday and Sunday – 8pm Friday to 5am Monday without a break.
The slip serves Chertsey and the surrounding area, so anyone who would normally leave the clockwise carriageway there will have to stay on the motorway and double back from a later junction, adding both time and miles to the trip.
Diversions and how to beat the disruption
Signed diversion routes will be in place around the closures, and drivers are urged to follow them rather than improvising their own way through unfamiliar roads – particularly in the dark, when sat-navs can send motorists down unsuitable minor routes.
A few practical steps will take the sting out of the weekend: check live traffic information before you set off and again before the return leg; allow an extra 20 to 30 minutes for any journey that touches the M25; keep the fuel tank topped up in case a diversion is longer than expected; and where possible, time journeys to fall outside the closure windows.
If you are new to the orbital’s weekend works, see our guide to how M25 weekend closures and diversions typically work.
Planned works programmes can be changed or cancelled at short notice, especially in poor weather, so a stretch listed as open tonight could still be closed tomorrow. Checking on the day remains the most reliable approach.
National Highways publishes live traffic information through its Traffic England service, which shows current closures, delays and roadworks across the network.
A disruptive week on the orbital
The weekend programme follows a run of overnight disruption on the motorway, including planned overnight closures at 22 spots on the capital’s orbital across four nights earlier in the month.
It has also been a difficult week for unplanned incidents: M25 drivers faced long delays following a crash at the Swanley Interchange.
Anyone combining a drive with public transport this weekend should check both before travelling – and with so much happening on the network, planning ahead is not just sensible, it is essential.
